Department for Transport

Railways

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to set out the next steps for his market-led proposals for rail.

Andrew Jones: The guidance for rail market-led proposals is live and it is for promoters to come forward with their proposals to invest in the railway. We remain committed to getting the best out of the public and private sectors in the interest of passengers and communities, and we continue to engage with promoters

Railways

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimates he has made of the timeframes required to (a) design, (b) consent and (c) tender for those new railway projects set out in the specification for market-led rail proposals.

Andrew Jones: Timescales for the development of market-led proposals are determined by the pace at which promoters develop them as they are market-led. We are continuing discussions with promoters of proposals received in response to last year’s Call for Ideas which we identified had the potential to be financially credible without government support. Due to commercial confidentiality we are not in a position to disclose details of these proposals at this time.

Harrow and Wealdstone Station

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with representatives of Network Rail on increasing capacity at Harrow and Wealdstone station; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones: Ministers at the Department for Transport have not had conversations with Network Rail on increasing capacity at Harrow and Wealdstone Station. This station is managed by Transport for London and it would be their responsibility to consider any capacity changes at the station. Capacity at Harrow and Wealdstone Underground station is a matter for the Mayor as transport is devolved in London.

Offshore Industry: Helicopters

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many helicopter flights were used for offshore oil and gas workers in each year between 2001 and 2018.

Jesse Norman: The table below shows the annual number of flights and passengers between UK airports (those with an annual volume of more than 150,000 terminal passengers) and Oil Rigs split by direction of travel. The Civil Aviation Authority do not collect data from smaller airports, as those airports with an annual volume of more than 150,000 terminal passengers constitute the vast majority of flights.  YearDirectionFlightsPassengers2001Arrival29,800327,7292001Departure30,094312,2242001 Total 59,894639,9532002Arrival29,201318,8302002Departure29,722309,8352002 Total 58,923628,6652003Arrival26,561284,4932003Departure27,461282,2942003 Total 54,022566,7872004Arrival26,128282,4782004Departure27,269281,7072004 Total 53,397564,1852005Arrival28,996313,9992005Departure30,018313,0552005 Total 59,014627,0542006Arrival32,431356,1272006Departure33,462357,0312006 Total 65,893713,1582007Arrival34,801385,6492007Departure35,862382,0532007 Total 70,663767,7022008Arrival34,596381,9702008Departure35,658381,3372008 Total 70,254763,3072009Arrival34,404376,2352009Departure35,511376,1172009 Total 69,915752,3522010Arrival31,359356,5692010Departure32,407357,9082010 Total 63,766714,4772011Arrival32,775379,4412011Departure33,972381,2562011 Total 66,747760,6972012Arrival32,807385,1182012Departure34,653395,4572012 Total 67,460780,5752013Arrival37,797414,5492013Departure39,176426,0622013 Total 76,973840,6112014Arrival38,855438,1252014Departure39,879448,1122014 Total 78,734886,2372015Arrival35,549409,6742015Departure36,334415,5642015 Total 71,883825,2382016Arrival30,074347,8552016Departure31,014353,0652016 Total 61,088700,9202017Arrival27,384302,2192017Departure28,263314,1592017 Total 55,647616,3782018Arrival27,448304,3892018Departure28,455315,8272018 Total 55,903620,216

Offshore Industry: Helicopters

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many offshore oil and gas workers were transported (a) to and (b) from installations on the UK continental shelf in each year from 2001 to 2018.

Jesse Norman: The table below shows the annual number of flights and passengers between UK airports (those with an annual volume of more than 150,000 terminal passengers) and Oil Rigs, split by direction of travel. The Civil Aviation Authority does not collect data from smaller airports, as airports with an annual volume of more than 150,000 terminal passengers constitute the vast majority of flights. YearDirectionFlightsPassengers2001Arrival29,800327,7292001Departure30,094312,2242001 Total 59,894639,9532002Arrival29,201318,8302002Departure29,722309,8352002 Total 58,923628,6652003Arrival26,561284,4932003Departure27,461282,2942003 Total 54,022566,7872004Arrival26,128282,4782004Departure27,269281,7072004 Total 53,397564,1852005Arrival28,996313,9992005Departure30,018313,0552005 Total 59,014627,0542006Arrival32,431356,1272006Departure33,462357,0312006 Total 65,893713,1582007Arrival34,801385,6492007Departure35,862382,0532007 Total 70,663767,7022008Arrival34,596381,9702008Departure35,658381,3372008 Total 70,254763,3072009Arrival34,404376,2352009Departure35,511376,1172009 Total 69,915752,3522010Arrival31,359356,5692010Departure32,407357,9082010 Total 63,766714,4772011Arrival32,775379,4412011Departure33,972381,2562011 Total 66,747760,6972012Arrival32,807385,1182012Departure34,653395,4572012 Total 67,460780,5752013Arrival37,797414,5492013Departure39,176426,0622013 Total 76,973840,6112014Arrival38,855438,1252014Departure39,879448,1122014 Total 78,734886,2372015Arrival35,549409,6742015Departure36,334415,5642015 Total 71,883825,2382016Arrival30,074347,8552016Departure31,014353,0652016 Total 61,088700,9202017Arrival27,384302,2192017Departure28,263314,1592017 Total 55,647616,3782018Arrival27,448304,3892018Departure28,455315,8272018 Total 55,903620,216

Offshore Industry: Helicopters

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when what the timeframe is for his Department to receive the report on the Civil Aviation Authority’s review of the CAP1145 document Safety review of offshore public transport helicopter operations in support of the exploitation of oil and gas.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport will receive the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) review upon its publication. The CAA aims to publish the review in the autumn of 2019.

Railways

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assurances his Department will provide train operators over new routes as determined by the market-led proposals; and whether those assurances will be classified as Government support for the Department's budgetary purposes.

Andrew Jones: The Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP) and Guidance for Rail Market-Led Proposals set out clear decision points for proposed rail enhancements. There are procedures and mechanisms in place to protect train operators from the impacts of rail enhancements.

Skipton-Colne Railway Line

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the initial feasibility study into the reopening the Skipton to Colne rail link.

Andrew Jones: Feasibility work is still in progress. We are now pressing on with further work to make sure that the proposed scheme can be made affordable, will attract sufficient traffic, and is part of the right long-term solution for all Trans-Pennine rail traffic. We will publish when these important issues have been explored and we understand the full picture.

Railways: Per Capita Costs

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the average price-per-mile to consumers for rail travel in each (a) nation and region of the UK and (b) rail franchise.

Andrew Jones: The Office of Rail and Road publishes information on passenger income per passenger kilometre in UK Rail Industry Financial Information 2017-18. Passenger income refers to income received by franchised train operators from passengers through ticket sales but does not include other passenger income from catering and car parks. The following table sets out passenger income per passenger kilometre for the nations of Great Britain in 2017-18. Figures for Northern Ireland and the regions are unavailable: EnglandScotlandWalesGB totalPassenger income per passenger km (£s)0.150.100.140.15   The following table sets out passenger income per passenger kilometre for each railfranchise in Great Britain in 2017-18: Passenger income per passenger km (£s)Essex Thameside0.14Chiltern0.13Cross Country0.14East Coast0.14East Midlands0.16East Anglia0.16Great Western0.16Northern0.12South Eastern0.17South Western0.15Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern0.17TransPennine Express0.12Wales & Borders0.12West Coast0.15West Midlands0.12London Overground0.17Merseyrail Electrics0.08ScotRail0.12TfL Rail0.16Caledonian Sleeper0.12GB total0.15

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Post Office: Corporate Hospitality

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if senior officials in his Department have accepted (a) hospitality and (b) gifts from the Post Office in the last 12 months.

Kelly Tolhurst: Senior officials have accepted hospitality from the Post Office relating to 2 board dinners, a Post Office people awards day and one overnight stay for a board away day. From the BEIS Gifts, Hospitality, Bribery and Corruption policy, if a gift could be considered to influence a decision, in the past or in the future, the gift should be declined. Transparency data on BEIS hospitality and gifts can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/search/transparency-and-freedom-of-information-releases?organisations%5B%5D=department-for-business-energy-and-industrial-strategy&parent=department-for-business-energy-and-industrial-strategy.

Conditions of Employment

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he has taken to increase workers rights.

Kelly Tolhurst: On 17 December 2018 we published the Good Work Plan, which sets out our vision for the future of the labour market and our ambitious plan for implementing the recommendations arising from the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices. Since publishing the Good Work Plan, we have passed legislation that means:All workers receive a day one statement of rights setting out leave entitlements and pay;An maximum additional penalty that Employment Tribunals can use quadrupling from £5,000 to £20,000, helping ensure workers are protected from employers who show malice, spite or gross oversight;The ending of the Swedish Derogation, the legal loophole that enables some firms to pay agency workers on less than permanent staff, which will benefit up to 120,000 agency workers;New agency workers will receive a key facts page before signing up with an agency, providing them with greater clarity, particularly around their pay; andThe threshold for an information and consultation request being reduced from 10% to 2% of employees, meaning a stronger voice in the workplace. In delivering the Good Work Plan. we will also:Legislate to make improvements to the clarity of employment status tests to reflect the reality of modern working relationships;Bring forward proposals for consultation on creating a new, single labour market enforcement agency to better ensure that vulnerable workers are more aware of and can exercise their rights, and that businesses are more supported to comply with the law;Enforce holiday pay for vulnerable workers;Introduce a right to request a more predictable and stable contract;Launch a new scheme to name and shame, for the first time, employers who fail to pay employment tribunal awards.

Health: Research

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and the Industrial Strategy, whether local health profiles influence the allocation of public investment in health research.

Chris Skidmore: Holding answer received on 07 May 2019



The Department for Health and Social Care funds health research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). NIHR funds ‘needs-led’ applied research – it aims to address issues that matter to the NHS and public health by identifying gaps in knowledge, and funding research that provides high-quality evidence to fill such gaps. In order to achieve this, NIHR undertakes activities to identify needs, working closely with users of research evidence – those responsible for establishing policy, commissioning services and delivering care. The NIHR Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) Programme funds regionally derived applied research projects in health services and social care. The main purpose of the programme is to realise, through evidence, the huge potential for improving, expanding and strengthening the way that healthcare is delivered for patients, the public and the NHS through locally generated priorities. In deciding which projects to support, we take care to involve not only scientific reviewers and experienced researchers, but also practitioners and service users. We also appoint public members to our Regional Advisory Panels.   UK Research and Innovation, a partner organisation of BEIS, funds medical research primarily through the Medical Research Council (MRC). MRC welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and is committed to funding excellence. MRC recognises the value of information such as local health profiles for identifying future research areas, but there is the need to balance this against wider opportunities and allow for investigator-led proposals to inform our priorities too.

Climate Change Convention

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure the UK secures its bid to host the 2020 UN Climate Change Conference.

Claire Perry: We are regularly engaging at Ministerial and official level with interested countries and the Western European and Others Group of the United Nations, as part of a coordinated cross-Government effort to demonstrate the UK is a committed, effective and ambitious leader on climate change and a good potential COP26 host. Our offer to host builds on the strong progress we have made towards the legally binding targets in our world-leading Climate Change Act, and on our broader climate credentials. Between 1990 and 2017, we have reduced our emissions by over 40 per cent while growing the economy by more than two thirds. In order to continue this progress, we have placed clean growth at the heart of our Industrial Strategy and made it one of four Grand Challenges. Thanks to this robust platform of domestic action and our diplomatic network, we continue to be at the forefront of encouraging the world to move towards clean growth.

Energy Companies Obligation

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Energy Company Obligation ECO3 installations have been made in each Parliamentary constituency.

Claire Perry: The attached table shows the number of measures delivered under the current phase of the Energy Company Obligation (ECO3) for the latest data available (October 2018 – February 2019) for each Parliamentary constituency in Great Britain. In order to manage the risk of revealing personal or commercial data, our approach is not to release non-zero counts of less than five for a small geographic area so these have been shown as 1-4 where applicable.



ECO3 measures by Constituency, Oct 2018-Feb 2019
(Excel SpreadSheet, 141.43 KB)

Business: Environment Protection

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure businesses receive adequate training on risks presented by environmental challenges.

Claire Perry: The Environment Agency provides advice on how businesses should comply with environmental law through guidance on Gov.uk. In order to regulate businesses it provides advice on the best available techniques and approaches that enable businesses to comply with the law and helps businesses with the best available compliance techniques. We are also committed to working closely with the private sector to support the effective management of climate-related financial risks.

Individual Voluntary Arrangements

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will establish an inquiry into the use of Individual Voluntary Agreements as a means of exploiting low-income and vulnerable consumers.

Kelly Tolhurst: Individual voluntary arrangements, used appropriately, are a very useful tool for helping people to deal with problem debt and there are no current plans to review their use. However, Government has recently consulted on the implementation of a “breathing space” scheme, which aims to give people legal protection from creditor action while they seek debt advice from an independent, approved debt adviser about their options. This will help to ensure that an individual in problem debt can enter a debt solution most appropriate for their circumstances. The Government’s response to this consultation will be published in due course.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to Scope’s report Disability Price Tag 2019, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the Warm Home Discount in line with recent trends in the price of energy.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to Scope’s report Disability Price Tag 2019, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of widening the core eligibility criteria for the Warm Home Discount to include disabled people who are both in and out of work.

Claire Perry: In 2018 we consulted on the level of the Warm Home Discount rebate and decided to maintain the current level in order to provide it to the maximum number of households. Since then, the Government has also taken action to protect 11 million households with the introduction of the energy price cap. Disabled people on means-tested benefits are eligible under the Broader Group of the Warm Home Discount. The Government is considering how to improve the fuel poverty targeting of the scheme and will be consulting on any proposed changes in due course.

Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme: Solar Power

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of extending Solar Thermal applications allowed under the Renewable Heat Incentive to both domestic hot water systems and domestic heating systems at the same time.

Claire Perry: The Department considered whether solar thermal should be allowed for space heating when the scheme was being designed in 2012/2013. The decision to restrict support to domestic hot water only solar thermal systems for the domestic RHI was based on the following considerations:At the time that we made our decision, market intelligence showed that only a small minority of solar thermal systems were designed to provide space heating and there was limited performance data.Supporting solar thermal for space heating would not present good value for money, as the RHI is taxpayer-funded – this is because solar thermal systems are only capable of meeting a small portion of a house’s heat demand, and are not as cost-effective in space heating when compared to other technologies.The Government currently has no plans to review its position on support for solar thermal on the RHI.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Yemen: Immigrants

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Yemeni Government on recent reports of detention of migrants in southern Yemen.

Mark Field: We are aware of reports of the detention of migrants in southern Yemen and our officials have raised this matter with the Government of Yemen.

Ahmed Mansoor

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2019 to Question 245892 on Ahmed Mansoor, if he will make representations to his Emirati counterpart on Ahmed Mansoor’s (a) hunger strike and (b) health condition.

Mark Field: ​As in our previous answer, my officials have raised the case of Ahmed Mansoor with their Emirati counterparts at the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Similarly, in coordination with my officials and other EU member states, the EU delegation to the UAE raised this case with Emirati officials.

North Macedonia: EU Accession

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the accession of North Macedonia to the EU.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Government continues to make clear to its EU counterparts that it views the EU accession process as fundamental to delivering security, stability and prosperity in the Western Balkans. We will continue to support countries committed to the accession process to meet the necessary requirements. This includes Albania and North Macedonia. As and when candidate countries have met the requirements for accession in full, it will be for those countries and European Union members at the time to decide on membership.

Albania: EU Accession

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the accession of Albania to the EU.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Government continues to make clear to its EU counterparts that it views the EU accession process as fundamental to delivering security, stability and prosperity in the Western Balkans. We will continue to support countries committed to the accession process to meet the necessary requirements. This includes Albania and North Macedonia. As and when candidate countries have met the requirements for accession in full, it will be for those countries and European Union members at the time to decide on membership.

Algeria: Politics and Government

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what (a) representations he has received and (b) meetings he has had on the transition of power in Algeria.

Mark Field: We are following events in Algeria closely, following (former) President Bouteflika's resignation, the appointment of an interim Head of State and the announcement of presidential election scheduled for 4 July.We have discussed these developments with Algerian officials and civil society representatives at a variety of levels. We commend the peaceful and dignified nature of the demonstrations. The forthcoming transition period is a matter for the Algerian people.

Iraq: Water

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has discussed with his Iraqi counterpart the water pollution crisis in Iraq; and whether the Government has offered the Iraqi Government any assistance to address that crisis.

Mark Field: ​British officials have discussed the serious water problems in Iraq with senior interlocutors in the Government of Iraq, including with respect to the specific difficulties around water provision in Basra. Through UK Export Finance, the UK has provided more than £1 billion of support for UK companies delivering critical infrastructure projects in Iraq – including water and waste water treatment projects.

Malaysia: Human Rights

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Malaysian counterpart on  respect for fundamental human rights including freedom of religion in that country.

Mark Field: ​The British Government is firmly committed to standing up for human rights around the world, including for freedom of religion or belief. These views are well known in Malaysia, and our longstanding relationship allows us to raise concerns at the highest level with the Malaysian government.The Foreign Secretary discussed human rights in his meetings with Malaysian ministers during his visit in January 2019, as did I during my visit in October 2018. Our High Commission in Kuala Lumpur has raised the issue of freedom of religion or belief with the Malaysian Foreign Minister and Religious Affairs Minister.We continue to support the Malaysian Government's ambitions to ratify UN instruments on human rights, reform security legislation and abolish the death penalty. We reiterated these points at Malaysia's Universal Periodic Review at UN Human Rights Council in November 2018.

Bahrain: Diplomatic Relations

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of diplomatic relations with Bahrain.

Mark Field: The UK and Bahrain continue to have a close and important relationship, which has flourished for more than 200 years. We cooperate on a number of pillars: defence; security; trade and investment. We work together on shared concerns about regional issues and the UK provides technical assistance to Bahrain’s ongoing reform agenda.

Kiribati: Diplomatic Relations

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of diplomatic relations with Kiribati.

Mark Field: The Republic of Kiribati remains a valued partner for the UK. We work closely, bilaterally and in multilateral fora.I last met the President of Kiribati at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London, 2018. We covered issues of mutual importance, particularly climate change and oceans. As my honourable friend will be aware, Kiribati is under significant pressure from the threat of rising sea levels. The UK’s Commonwealth Marine Economies Programme is funding a project to map Kiribati’s seabed to support new maritime infrastructure.I have also worked with Kiribati at the United Nations General Assembly, the Pacific Island Forum and our recent UK and New Zealand Wilton Park Conference on Pacific resilience. As we continue to expand our diplomatic presence in the Pacific we expect our engagement to further increase.

Burma: Rohingya

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Myanmar counterpart on the Rohingya people.

Mark Field: The Foreign Secretary visited Myanmar on 19 and 20 September 2018 to visit northern Rakhine and to press Myanmar's leaders to take action. He also discussed the Fact-Finding Mission report with Aung San Suu Kyi. Minister Field spoke with the Myanmar Minister for International Cooperation Kyaw Tin on 1 November 2018 to stress the UK's serious concern at Myanmar's announcement, with Bangladesh, that refugee repatriation would begin despite suitable conditions not yet being in place in northern Rakhine.In November 2018, the Foreign Secretary wrote a joint letter with the French Foreign Minister making clear to the Myanmar authorities that its Commission of Inquiry needs to be an independent and credible mechanism that will lead to a judicial process in order to deliver accountability for the atrocities committed. The British Ambassador continues to have regular discussions with senior Myanmar officials about the Rohingya people.On 18 March I met with U Thaung Tun, the Myanmar Union Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations and National Security Advisor and again raised the issue of conditions in Rakhine and the importance of long term social and economic development in Rakhine to improve prospects for all, including the Rohingya.

Brunei: Legal Systems

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of people convicted in Sharia Courts in Brunei since the introduction of those courts.

Mark Field: The British Government does not record statistics of cases bought before Sharia Courts in Brunei. Sharia Courts have been present in Brunei for decades. Sharia Family law has been used in Brunei alongside the Common Law and predates the Sharia Penal Code. The first phase of the Sharia Penal Code Order was introduced in 2013. Phase III was implemented on 3 April. There have been no convictions in Sharia Courts since 3 April under Phase III of the Sharia Penal Code.

Iran: Arabs

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential threat posed to ethnic Arabs in Iran by the Iranian Government.

Mark Field: We continue to be concerned by reports of substantial violations of the rights of ethnic minorities and their defenders in Iran, including but not limited to Arabs, Azeris, Baluchis, Kurds, Turkmen, and Azerbaijani Turks.We regularly raise the treatment of religious and ethnic minorities in Iran with the Iranian Government, and we continue to take action with the international community to press Iran to improve its poor record on all human rights issues.

China: Ethnic Groups

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Chinese counterpart on the reported mass detention of Uighur Muslims in that country.

Mark Field: Ministers and senior officials regularly raise our serious concerns about the treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang directly with the Chinese authorities, and will continue to do so. During my most recent visit to China in July 2018, I raised our concerns with my counterpart the Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Mr Field, Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific raised our concerns with Vice Minister Guo Yezhou during his visit to China on 22 July 2018. We spoke publicly about the situation in Xinjiang at the 40th UN Human Rights Council which took place earlier this year. The Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion and Belief, Lord Ahmad, raised our concerns during his opening address on 25 February. The UK also spoke about Xinjiang during our “Item 4” national statement on 12 March, and we co-sponsored a side event on “Protecting the fundamental freedoms in Xinjiang” on 13 March. Additionally, in our statement at China’s Universal Periodic Review on 6 November, we made clear our concern about the treatment of Uyghurs in China. The UK issued a specific recommendation to China that it implements the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination’s recommendations on Xinjiang and allows the UN to monitor the implementation.

Christianity: Oppression

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to combat the persecution of Christians abroad.

Mark Field: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is committed to using our influence to defend Freedom of Religion or Belief as a universal human right which should be enjoyed by everyone. That is why the Prime Minister appointed Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon as the Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief. We regularly raise Christian persecution with our international counterparts, for example through the Human Rights Council. In recent years we have seen reports of a particular rise in the persecution of Christians. The Foreign Secretary launched the independent review of FCO support for persecuted Christians on 30 January. The Review is led by the Bishop of Truro. It will map levels of persecution and discrimination against Christians around the world, and provide robust recommendations on how the FCO can respond. The Bishop has now submitted his interim report and will submit his final report in Summer.

Sri Lanka: Politics and Government

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in Sri Lanka.

Mark Field: We are continuing to assess the security situation in Sri Lanka. Security operations in Sri Lanka are ongoing following the 21 April attacks and a State of Emergency remains in place. The Sri Lankan authorities have made a number of arrests in relation to the attacks, and investigations are ongoing.Until security operations have reduced the threat, we assess that it is very likely that terrorists will try to mount terrorist attacks. Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreigners. We have updated our travel advice to reflect this and are keeping our recommendation against all but essential travel under close review.We have done much to improve our protective security and preparedness capability in the UK given the history of attacks in our country. The Minister of State for Security, Ben Wallace, visited Sri Lanka on 2-3 May to demonstrate UK solidarity and to take forward discussions on what UK support would be most helpful, drawing on the UK's experience and expertise in this field.

Northern Ireland Office

Domestic Abuse Bill (Draft): Northern Ireland

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2018 to Question  245778 on Domestic Abuse Bill (Draft): Northern Ireland, what pre-existing policy decisions on domestic abuse the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland is working on in the absence of an Assembly.

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2019 to Question 245778 on Domestic Abuse Bill (Draft): Northern Ireland, if she will provide further details on what new Domestic Abuse Offence in Northern Ireland she is working on with the Home Office and Ministry of justice including publishing any consultation papers for this purpose.

John Penrose: Discussions are ongoing between the Home Office, Ministry of Justice and the Department of Justice in relation to the application of the landmark Domestic Abuse Bill to Northern Ireland. Details will be announced in due course.The Department of Justice in Northern Ireland is progressing a range of work in relation to on pre-existing policy decisions on domestic violence and abuse, in conjunction with its statutory, voluntary and community sector partners. including a domestic abuse offence; domestic homicide reviews, a domestic violence and abuse disclosure scheme; a streamlined advocacy support service; behavioural change programmes for those demonstrating concerning behaviours and an advertising campaign to raise awareness of domestic abuse and the availability of the disclosure scheme. These key policy areas were set out in the seven year ‘Stopping Domestic and Sexual Violence and Abuse’ strategy published by Northern Ireland Ministers in 2016.These are from the following documents: https://www.justice-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/doj/stopping-domestic-sexual-violence-ni.pdf and https://www.justice-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/justice/Year%204%20draft%20Action%20Plan%20Stopping%20Domestic%20and%20Sexual%20Violence%20and%20Abuse%20Strategy.pdf

Families: Northern Ireland

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of the number of households in Northern Ireland which have someone aged 75 or over living in them.

John Penrose: At the time of the 2011 Census, there were 108,058 usual residents aged 75 and over living in households in Northern Ireland. The number of households which had a usual resident aged 75 and over was 90,245 out of a total of 703,275 households in Northern Ireland.

Department of Health and Social Care

Stem Cells: Donors

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) raise awareness of the need for stem cell donations from people aged 16-30 and (b) encourage those people to join the stem cell donor register.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Holding answer received on 02 May 2019



The Department has provided more than £26 million to NHS Blood and Transplant and Anthony Nolan for stem cell donation since 2011. The funding has specific targets about the proportion of young donors, specifically young male donors, due to research identifying that younger donors offer the potential for better patient outcomes and a greater chance of survival. The Anthony Nolan and NHS Stem Cell Registry which was supported by the Department funding has over 1.4 million registered donors. 69% of new donors recruited to the registry in 2017 were under the age of 30.Raising awareness about the importance of stem cell donation is everyone's business. The government fully supports and recognises the important work charities do to encourage registration and donation for the benefit of patients. I recently met with Team Margot, a charity who are doing excellent work to raise awareness of the need for stem cell donors.

Influenza

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to reduce the number of people contracting the winter flu virus.

Seema Kennedy: Influenza vaccination is offered to those at higher risk from flu, including older people, pregnant women, and those with certain underlying medical conditions. Based on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the range of recommended flu vaccines for different patient groups has been extended for 2019/20 and these should provide better protection.Since 2013/14, the flu vaccination to children has been introduced in a phased roll-out. This programme provides protection to the children themselves and reduces flu transmission. In 2019/20 the programme will be extended to Year 6 school children, so for the first time in England all primary school aged children will be offered vaccination, as well as two and three year olds.Vaccination is also recommended for frontline health and social care workers to reduce transmission of flu to those they care for.

Breast Cancer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the provision of annual check-ups for women with a history of breast cancer.

Seema Kennedy: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) requirements for breast cancer follow-up include annual mammography to all people with breast cancer until they enter the NHS Breast Screening Programme in England. People diagnosed with breast cancer who are already eligible for screening should have annual mammography for five years.NICE requirements also include clinical follow-up for people who have had treatment for breast cancer, which is a written care plan that is agreed with a healthcare professional. These care plans should include details of surveillance mammography and signs and symptoms to look out for and to seek advice on.

Diabetes: Health Education

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to make it easier to ensure that providers of diabetes structured education services are able to (a) upload data and (b) integrate information with NHS systems.

Seema Kennedy: Where structured diabetes educational programmes are offered from, or delivered in, general practice (GP), the capability to encode this activity is available in all of the GP principal systems, and this coded data contributes to the National Diabetes audit. While there are currently no systems in place for external providers of diabetes educational services to upload this data to GP systems or any national repository, this type of capability will in future be developed into the GP patient record through interface work which is currently in development.

Diabetes: Health Education

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the modules are in diabetes structured education courses for patients; and what proportion of patients have (a) enrolled and (b) completed those modules in each year since 2009-10.

Seema Kennedy: The information requested is not centrally held.

Haematological Cancer: Screening

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his timetable is for whole genome sequencing to be made available to patients with blood cancer; and what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of that sequencing for those patients' care.

Caroline Dinenage: Up to 50% of cancer patients enrolled in the 100,000 genomes project, including patients with blood cancer, have seen a change in their treatment since receiving their result. This could be eligibility for a new trial, or prescription of a new medicine.The National Genomic Test Directory outlines the range of genomic tests – from whole genomic sequencing to tests for single genes and molecular markers – that are available as part of the National Health Service clinical service.From summer 2019, whole genome sequencing will be implemented as part of routine clinical care and be available to:- Seriously ill children with a suspected genetic disorder, including those with cancer;- People with one of 21 rare and inherited conditions; and- People with specific types of cancer for which there is likely to be the greatest patient benefit from using whole genome sequencing – children with cancer, sarcoma and acute myeloid leukaemia.

Social Services

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timeframe is for (a) implementing policies to tackle the challenges facing the social care system and (b) the publication of the Green Paper on social care.

Caroline Dinenage: As people live longer than ever before, sometimes with complex care needs, we need to ensure the social care system is sustainable in the longer term. The Government has committed to publishing a Green Paper setting out its proposals for reform and will bring forward ideas for including an element of risk pooling in the system, which will help to protect people from the highest costs.The Green Paper remains a priority for the Government and will address a longstanding policy problem. We are continuing to work on it closely, taking the time to consult with key stakeholders and take their feedback into consideration. The Green Paper will be published at the earliest opportunity.

Social Services

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the adequacy of funding for the social care system.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government has given councils access to up to £3.9 billion for 2019-20. This includes a £240 million adult social care winter fund to help local authorities alleviate winter pressures on the National Health Service, getting patients home quicker and freeing up hospital beds across England.As a result of these measures, funding available for adult social care is increasing by 9% in real terms from 2015-16 to 2019-20. This funding will allow councils to support more people and sustain a diverse care market while social care funding for future years will be settled in the Spending Review, where the overall approach to funding local government will be considered in the round.

Social Services: Staff

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the number of (a) EU and (b) EEA nationals working in the social care sector, what plans he has to incentivise the domestic labour market to enter the social care profession.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government hugely values the contribution of the 104,000 European Union staff who work in the social care sector. The Prime Minister has made it clear that we not only want them to stay, but feel welcomed and encouraged to do so. The EU Settlement Scheme has now fully opened, is free and will allow EU nationals employed in the social care sector to secure their long-term status in the United Kingdom. The Government is working alongside stakeholders in the adult social care sector to ensure there is the right number of people, with the right skills, knowledge and values to meet increasing demand, and deliver high quality, person-centred care and support. We know we need to redouble our efforts to promote jobs and careers in social care to the domestic workforce which is why my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, has made improving the working lives of the millions of people who work in health and social care one of his top priorities, and why on 12 February we launched a national recruitment campaign for social care. The campaign, ‘Every Day is Different’ showcases how rewarding and varied social care careers can be, with opportunities for progression and professional development. The campaign ran from February to early April and its objective was to raise the image and profile of the sector and encourage people with the right values to apply for current vacancies. The upcoming Social Care Green Paper will set out the Department’s proposals for reform of the sector to put it on a more sustainable future footing. This will include a vision for workforce and proposals to boost recruitment and retention in the longer term.

NHS: Migrant Workers

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Immigration White Paper, what assessment he has made of the effect of the proposal to cap salaries at £30,000 on maintaining adequate levels staff in the NHS.

Stephen Hammond: The Home Office is undertaking a programme of engagement with colleagues across Government and industry to discuss the proposed measures in the Immigration White Paper, including at what level any minimum salary threshold should be set. Officials from the Department of Health and Social Care and the Home Office are working closely together to engage with the health and care sector to ensure views on the design of the future immigration system are heard.However, we also recognise the need to boost our domestic workforce as well. The NHS Long Term Plan sets out a vital strategic framework to ensure that, over the next 10 years, the National Health Service will have the staff it needs so that nurses and doctors are working in a supportive culture that allows them to provide the expert compassionate care they are committed to providing. Baroness Dido Harding, Chair of NHS Improvement, working closely with Sir David Behan, Chair of Health Education England, will lead a number of programmes to develop a detailed workforce implementation plan. Baroness Harding and Sir David will present these initial recommendations to the Department this spring.

Social Services

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to ensure that the provision of social care is based on the needs of the individual.

Caroline Dinenage: Government policy and the law in the form of the Care Act 2014 should ensure that the provision of social care is based on the needs of the individual.The Care Act 2014 puts people’s wellbeing at the heart of care and support. In practice, the guidance requires that local authorities should ensure that where they arrange services, the assessed needs of a person with eligible care and support needs is translated into effective, appropriate, commissioned services that are adequately resourced.People who are eligible for social care from their local authority can receive a personal budget to pay for the care and support services they choose for their needs; providing them with a personalised package that addresses their bespoke needs.

Prisoners: Prescription Drugs

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many prisoners have been taken off prescription medication in each prison in 2018.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The information requested is not held centrally.

Obesity

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle obesity.

Seema Kennedy: The Rt Hon David Davis MP (Haltemprice and Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle obesity. PQ249210 SEEMA KENNEDY I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Primary Care (Steve Brine MP) to the hon. Member for Cardiff Central (Jo Stevens MP) on 28 February 2019 to Question 225540.

Department of Health and Social Care: Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many civil servants in his Department have been seconded to (a) the Department for Exiting the European Union and (b) the Department for International Trade in each of the last three years.

Caroline Dinenage: Overall, there have been four secondments to the Department for International Trade and 11 to the Department for Exiting the European Union. A full break down by year for the past three years is below. YearDepartment for International TradeDepartment for Exiting the European Union201605201714201831201901

National Breastfeeding Week

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to mark National Breastfeeding Week 2019.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Breastfeeding Celebration Week 2019 is planned for week commencing 17 June. Along with partner organisations and breastfeeding charities. Public Health England (PHE) will engage in a social media centred celebration of breastfeeding. The theme for the week in 2019 is promoting the benefits of skin to skin contact, both immediately after birth and throughout the early weeks of life. PHE has commissioned a short film focussed on empowering young women who wish to breastfeed to support them achieving their intended breastfeeding duration and celebrating with women with black, Asian or minority ethnic ancestry who choose to breastfeed.

Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust: Subsidiary Companies

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the response to consultations undertaken with staff of Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust on that Trust’s decision to set up a wholly owned subsidiary company.

Stephen Hammond: An NHS Improvement panel reviews each business case and underlying financial projections to consider the level of inherent risks associated with the proposals to set up a subsidiary. The review considers the specific aims of the business case alongside the overarching governance, financial, quality and operational impacts of the proposals on the trust, the wider health system and its patients. The guidance states that the trust board should certify that it is satisfied that it has “engaged staff in decisions that affect them and the services they provide as pledged in the NHS Constitution, and has plans to comply with any consultation requirements, including staff consultations.”

NHS Trusts: Subsidiary Companies

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of NHS Improvement’s guidance of November 2018 that NHS Trust Boards must be satisfied that they have properly involved staff in decision-making when setting up a wholly owned subsidiary company.

Stephen Hammond: Following a consultation period, on 26 November 2018, NHS Improvement published new guidance on the creation of subsidiaries by National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts. The revised regulatory framework strikes a balance between what NHS Improvement considers a sound commercial case for setting up subsidiaries and respecting the NHS freedoms and ability to innovate.The guidance states that the trust board should certify that it is satisfied that it has “engaged staff in decisions that affect them and the services they provide as pledged in the NHS Constitution, and has plans to comply with any consultation requirements, including staff consultations.”

Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust: Subsidiary Companies

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to review the decision taken by Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to proceed with the creation of a wholly owned subsidiary company.

Stephen Hammond: An NHS Improvement panel reviews each business case and underlying financial projections to consider the level of inherent risks associated with the proposals to set up a subsidiary. The review considers the specific aims of the business case alongside the overarching governance, financial, quality and operational impacts of the proposals on the trust, the wider health system and its patients.

NHS Trusts: Subsidiary Companies

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that any future regulation undertaken by NHS Improvement with respect to the creation of wholly owned subsidiaries is followed by NHS Trusts.

Stephen Hammond: In November 2018, NHS Improvement published an addendum to the Transactions Guidance – for trusts undertaking transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, to include further guidance about trusts forming or changing a subsidiary (“the Addendum”). Under that guidance, all subsidiary proposals must be referred to NHS Improvement for consideration.The trust may only proceed with the transaction and enter into any legally-binding arrangements in relation to the subsidiary once the proposal has been reviewed by NHS Improvement.

Health Services: Access

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the UK continues to uphold its commitment to the universal human right of access to healthcare.

Stephen Hammond: The founding principles of the National Health Service, which are enshrined in law, set out that the NHS provides a comprehensive service, available to all, with access based on clinical need and not an individual’s ability to pay. They are also reflected in the NHS Constitution. The NHS Long Term Plan, published on 7 January 2019, sets out how the NHS will use the largest and longest funding settlement in NHS history to improve outcomes and patient experience over the next decade, meet the challenge of rising demand, and ensure that the NHS will remain sustainable for generations to come. As we work with the NHS to take the Plan forward, the Constitution continues to represent everything that the NHS stands for.

Vaccination

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of access to health services on vaccination coverage in England.

Seema Kennedy: The service delivery factors affecting vaccination coverage in the UK have been reviewed and most recently updated for National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in 2017. This is available to view at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/PH21NICE therefore recommends the use of call/recall as one of their quality standards to improve uptake in children. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs145NICE is currently consulting on the scope for a further review. Further information on this consultation is available to view at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ng10139.The National Institute of Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in immunisation have also conducted a process evaluation of how the routine vaccination programme is implemented at general practitioner practices in England. This study concluded that greater capacity, as measured by appointments per patient, may be associated with higher coverage in children. The full paper is available to view at the following link:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6198492/

Mental Health Services: Staff

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS Digital will include the number of speech and language therapists working in (a) children and young people’s and (b) adult NHS mental health services in its estimate of the mental health workforce.

Jackie Doyle-Price: NHS Digital’s estimate of the mental health workforce is drawn from the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). ESR is the HR and payroll system for the National Health Service.In ESR, staff who are identified to either have an Occupation Code or who work in an area suggesting that they primarily work to provide or support the provision of mental health are included in NHS Digital’s estimate of the mental health workforce. This includes speech and language therapists who meet these criteria

Integrated Care Systems

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to issue guidance to local authorities on (a) considering and (b) including the evidence in the report entitled Bercow: Ten Years On report, published in March 2018, in their (a) joint health and wellbeing strategies and (b) their contribution to integrated care systems.

Caroline Dinenage: As set out in the statutory guidance on Joint Strategic Needs Assessments and Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategies, local authorities and clinical commissioners should be drawing upon this evidence and the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care will continue to promote and draw this to the attention of commissioners where possible.The report ‘Bercow: Ten Years On’ provides valuable evidence of the importance of commissioners understanding local communication needs, and working together with providers and patients to ensure needs are met. The Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care will continue to seek opportunities for drawing this to the attention of commissioners.

Doctors: Pensions

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of the Annual and Lifetime Allowance taxation rules on rates of early retirement  among doctors.

Stephen Hammond: Membership data from the NHS Pension Scheme shows the number of hospital doctors and general practitioners (GPs) claiming their pension earlier than their normal pension age.Whilst the scheme does not require individuals to give reasons for claiming their pension, the rise in voluntary early retirement rates coincides with reductions in pension tax allowances over the same period. The annual and lifetime allowances limit the amount by which an individual can grow their pension tax-free each year and in total. There is emerging evidence that pension tax may be a factor in doctors deciding to retire early or limit their National Health Service commitments. There are of course other factors, such as workload.The Government is alive to the issues raised by senior clinicians, and keeps the impact of public sector pay and pensions policies under constant review, taking account of total reward and fiscal considerations.The following table shows the number of hospital doctors and GPs claiming their NHS Pension on a voluntary early retirement basis from the 1995 NHS Pension Scheme.Scheme YearHospital DoctorsGPs2011-123155132012-133875912013-144067462014-154537392015-164946952016-174907212017-18424588

HIV Infection

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people with HIV are (a) diagnosed and (b) receiving treatment.

Seema Kennedy: A range of approaches are in place to help diagnose people living with HIV as early as possible. The Government has mandated local authorities in England to commission comprehensive open access sexual health services, including free sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment. All parts of the country provide access to different HIV testing options such as HIV self- sampling services, or community HIV testing activities. The National Health Service continues to provide world class treatment and care for people living with HIV. In 2017, 92% people living with HIV infection in the United Kingdom were diagnosed, 98% of people diagnosed were receiving treatment and 97% of people receiving treatment were virally suppressed.

Ambulance Services: Hoaxes and False Alarms

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is the Government taking to reduce the number of hoax calls made to (a) the West Midlands Ambulance Service and (b) ambulance services throughout the UK.

Seema Kennedy: The management of hoax calls is the responsibility of individual National Health Service ambulance trusts. The West Midlands Ambulance Service advises hoax callers of the seriousness of their actions and the risks posed to others. If repeated, callers will be referred to the relevant Police Force. The Trust has also undertaken media campaigns to highlight the risks that hoax calls pose.

Opiates: Prescriptions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 2 May 2019 to Question 248592 on Opiates: Prescriptions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of her Department centrally recording information on the prevalence of opioid prescriptions,

Seema Kennedy: We have made no such assessment. Prescription information is taken from the Prescription Cost Analysis system, as supplied by NHS Digital, and is based on a full analysis of all prescriptions dispensed in the community. The data is not collected on a local authority basis.

Opiates: Prescriptions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many investigations relating to the over-prescription of opioids have been undertaken by the Care Quality Commission in each year for which data is available.

Caroline Dinenage: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) does not undertake investigations relating to the over-prescription of controlled drugs. The CQC looks at the arrangements for controlled drugs as well as all other medicines as part of its inspection process. This can include prescribing, particularly where concerns have been raised. This information is then published as part of the CQC’s inspection report. As well as following up regarding controlled drug prescribing at an individual service level, the CQC also reports on national prescribing trends through its controlled drugs annual report to the Government, these reports are publicly available on its website.

Attorney General

National Security Council: Disclosure of Information

Tom Watson: To ask the Attorney General, whether he has been asked by the Cabinet Office to assess whether there was any illegality involved in the Huawei leak from the National Security Council.

Mr Geoffrey Cox: The Attorney General’s role in respect of the Official Secrets Act is confined to granting consent to prosecute as defined in that Act.

Official Secrets Act 1989

Tom Watson: To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the recent alleged disclosure of information from the National Security Council, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Official Secrets Act.

Mr Geoffrey Cox: The policy responsibility for the operation of the Official Secrets Acts is a matter for the Cabinet Office. The Attorney General’s role in respect of the Official Secrets Act is confined to granting consent to prosecute as defined in that Act.

Department for Education

Schools: Finance

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that schools receive equitable levels of funding under the national funding formula.

Nick Gibb: The national funding formula (NFF) will mean that, for the first time, school funding will be distributed based on the specific characteristics of every school and pupil in the country. It is directing money where it is most needed – not accidents of geography or history.Schools are already benefitting from the gains delivered by the NFF. This year, all schools are attracting an increase of at least 1% per pupil compared to their 2017-18 baselines. Those schools that have been historically underfunded will attract up to 6% more per pupil compared to 2017-18, as we continue to address historic unfairness. Details of the NFF beyond 2019-20 are subject to the next Spending Review. Local authorities continue to have some flexibility on how this funding is distributed locally, in consultation with schools. Flexibility allows local authorities, in consultation with their schools, to smooth the transition toward the NFF, where this represents a significant change.

Church Schools

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether there are any church schools in multi-academy trusts where less than half of the schools in that multi-academy trust are church schools.

Nadhim Zahawi: As at 1 May 2019, there are 371 Multi-Academy Trusts (MAT) that include church schools. Of these, there are 99 MATs where church schools make up less than half of the academies within that Trust. We have identified church schools as those schools with a religious designation relating to the Christian faith. This includes Church of England, Greek Orthodox, Catholic and non-denominational Christian schools.

Swimming: Primary Education

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to introduce a statutory requirement to provide primary school (a) teaching and (b) support staff with (i) training and (ii) regular up-skilling in swimming and water safety; and if he will ensure that all pupils of primary age have adequate opportunities to access publicly-funded swimming facilities.

Nadhim Zahawi: Swimming is a vital life skill, which is why swimming and water safety are compulsory elements of the national curriculum physical education (PE) at key stages 1 and 2. It sets out the expectation that pupils should be taught to:swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres;use a range of strokes effectively; andperform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations. The government asked the Swim Group, which includes representatives from across the swimming and education sector, to submit an independent report setting out recommendations for improving curriculum swimming, as part of the Sporting Future strategy. The department has worked closely with Swim England and other members of the Swim group to review the recommendations in their report. In October 2018, we announced that schools would receive extra support to help all pupils to swim and know how to be safe in the water by the time they leave primary school. This included guidance to schools on: effective use of the PE and sport premium to support additional teacher training and top-up swimming for those children not yet able to meet the national curriculum requirements after core lessons;a drive to boost partnerships between independent schools to offer the use of facilities, coaching and other forms of support to schools in their area;new guidance from Swim England and the Swim Group for swimming providers, primary schools, swimming teachers and parents and carers. Information on school swimming pools is not held centrally. Since 2012, Sport England has invested £67 million into 46 new local authority facilities which include pools, resulting in around £700 million investment from those authorities. In addition, Sport England is currently working with around 100 local authorities which have plans for new pool provision. Sport England also provide guidance to local authorities on facility management options and specifications, this guidance is currently under review and will be available in the forthcoming months. The new guidance will contain information on pool programming from Swim England and will reference good practice where facility management organisations have worked in cooperation with primary schools to improve logistics in relation to delivery of school swimming.

Children's Play

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to implement the child's right to play in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child through the establishment of a national play strategy.

Nadhim Zahawi: The UK government remains fully committed to children’s rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and I reaffirmed our commitment in my Written Ministerial Statement on 20 November 2018.The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Statutory Framework sets the regulatory standards for ‘learning and development’ and ‘safeguarding and welfare’ requirements for all early years providers caring for children from birth to 5. The framework defines 7 areas of learning and development and is clear that each area must be implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activity.The EYFS Statutory Framework is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2.

Social Mobility

Sir David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department plans to take in response to the recommendations of the Social Mobility Commission's report entitled State of the Nation 2018-19: Social Mobility in Great Britain, published on 30 April 2019.

Nadhim Zahawi: The department welcomes the publication of the Social Mobility Commission’s annual report and the important work that Dame Martina Milburn and her new team of commissioners are doing to promote social mobility across the UK. The Commission’s report shines a light on where government, businesses and employers can continue raising the bar for everyone living in this country and the department will be taking the recommendations seriously.Social mobility is a top priority across government, and we have taken great strides to improve it. We are targeting extra support at the areas of greatest challenge and least opportunity to raise standards in schools and attract great teachers. We have also seen disadvantaged 18-year olds entering full-time university courses at record rates. We are supporting pupils to thrive at every stage by setting a 10-year ambition to boost children’s early reading and communication skills, transforming technical education and providing coaching for young jobseekers to put them on track to succeed. We have committed £72 million to improve outcomes for children and young people in our 12 Opportunity Areas: social mobility “cold spots” that face some of the greatest challenges and fewest opportunities. The early evaluation of the programme highlights the benefits of our work in the Opportunity Areas, and we are committed to sharing this good practice with other areas.

Children: Day Care

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to extend the number of free childcare hours for low-income families as a means of tackling social inequality.

Nadhim Zahawi: This government is committed to helping working families with accessible, affordable childcare and offers a broad range of childcare support. The government has no plans to extend the package of free childcare entitlement schemes. Supporting parents who want to work, with the cost of childcare, is important. That is why the government already offers a package of schemes: all 3 and 4–year-olds and the most disadvantaged 2-year-olds can access 15 hours a week of early education. From September 2017, this government doubled the childcare entitlement for working parents of 3 and 4-year-olds to 30 hours a week - saving parents up to £5,000 per year in total if they use the full 30 hours of free childcare available. 30 hours free childcare helps a wide range of families, for example, a lone parent only has to earn from just under £7,000 a year to be able to access 30 hours of free childcare and a couple from just under £14,000.Tackling social inequality is not just about 30 hours free childcare. The government is committed to supporting disadvantaged children, for example, through the 2-year-old entitlement, the early years pupil premium and the actions announced in ‘Unlocking Talent, Fulfilling Potential’. We will continue to track the outcomes of disadvantaged children, where the gap continues to close. Tax-Free Childcare provides additional financial help from government to help with any additional costs. Eligible parents can also claim up to 85% of their childcare costs through universal credit.

Overseas Students: EU Nationals

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the timescale is for announcing whether students from the EU planning to study at a UK university will be subject to international student fees or qualify for home fee status for the 2020-21 academic year.

Chris Skidmore: We recognise how important it is that students and institutions have information on eligibility for student support before applications for courses open.Applications for courses starting in academic year 2020/21 do not open until September 2019. We will provide sufficient notice for prospective EU students on fee arrangements ahead of the 2020/2021 academic year and subsequent years in the future.

Schools: Admissions

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, to publish what information the Department holds on how long children who are housed out of borough have to wait for a school place at their new address by local authority area for each of the last three years.

Nick Gibb: When a family moves house and requests a transfer for their child to a different school near their new address it is classed as an in-year admission. This is managed on a local level by either the local authority, where it coordinates the in-year admissions for schools in their area, or directly by the admission authority of the school. The Department has no involvement in this process and does not hold data on the number of in-year admission applications made and length of time taken to fulfil those requests.

Sex and Relationship Education

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 4 April 2019 to Question 239199, whether HIV PrEP will be taught as a method of HIV prevention in the new Relationships and Sex Education courses in schools.

Nick Gibb: From September 2020, the Department expects schools to teach the new content in the relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education guidance. The required teaching content covers sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDs, and teaching on prevention and the importance of testing and how and where to access advice and treatment. In teaching about sexually transmitted infections, schools may choose to include information about HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis in the context of HIV prevention. The guidance is clear that schools should draw on medically accurate information and set this in the broader context of the subjects as a whole. Schools will be supported to deliver high quality teaching of relationships education, RSE and health education. This will include making training, good practice and high-quality resources available to schools.

Morning Lane Associates

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what sums her Department paid to Morning Lane Associates in each of the last six financial years.

Anne Milton: The department has paid Morning Lane Associates a total of £1,803,915.14 over the past 6 financial years. There were no payments made to Morning Lane Associates during 2013-14 and 2018-19. A list of the sums paid is set out below:Financial YearTotal funds paid2014-2015£96,811.262015-2016£1,292,890.462016-2017£396,213.422017-2018£18,000.00Total£1,803,915.14

Social Mobility

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish the dates on which he has met with ministers or officials from the (a) Department for Work and Pensions, and (b) Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy on the Opportunity Areas Programme in the last two years; and what the outcomes of each of those meetings were.

Anne Milton: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education met my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 27 March 2019 to discuss the progress of the Opportunity Areas programme, amongst other matters. Across our 12 Opportunity Areas, the department is enabling a range of partners including Local Enterprise Partnerships, through work with the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, job centres, and through work with the Department for Work and Pensions, to help teachers remove barriers to learning and boost aspiration, for the most disadvantaged pupils and parents.

Pre-school Education: Music

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help ensure that all children have access to music while in early years education.

Nadhim Zahawi: The early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the regulatory standards for learning and development for all early years providers caring for children from birth to 5.The EYFS defines 7 areas of learning under which sit 17 early learning goals (ELG) which summarise the knowledge, skills and understanding that all young children should have gained by the end of the reception year.Under the ‘Expressive arts and design’ area of learning, the ‘Exploring and using media and materials’ ELG involves children singing songs, making music and dancing, and the ‘Being imaginative’ ELG involves children representing their ideas, thoughts and feelings through music.We are currently in the process of piloting draft revised ELG which will retain a focus on music as an important part of a broad and balanced curriculum in the early years.

Graduates: Employment

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that universities develop courses in consultation with industry professionals to enable graduates to develop adequate skills for the workplace.

Chris Skidmore: It is important that universities focus on ensuring that their graduates have the skills needed, including technical, vocational and transferable skills, to gain a positive outcome from their degree. The primary aim of the Office for Students (OfS), the higher education regulator, is to ensure that higher education delivers positive outcomes for students and that it has a regulatory focus to ensure that students are able to progress into employment or further study. Collaboration between universities and business is increasingly important, both in the development of work-ready, highly skilled graduates and in contributing to local and regional economic growth. There is already a strong track record of collaboration. For example, Teesside University’s Digital City innovation initiative is helping local small and medium-sized enterprises to place graduate interns in their businesses by providing recruitment support and a 50% contribution towards their salary. The government is supporting greater collaboration between businesses and universities in a number of ways:The OfS, through its Industrial Strategy and Skills Challenge Competition is funding providers (including in collaboration with employers) to develop and implement projects to improve outcomes for graduates who seek employment in their home region. Details of which can be found here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/ofs-challenge-competition-industrial-strategy-and-skills-support-for-local-students-and-graduates/. Similarly, the UK Research and Innovation 'Strength in Places Fund' is a competitive fund for collaborative bids between research institutions and businesses to support significant regional growth through research and innovation. Details can be found here: https://www.ukri.org/funding/funding-opportunities/strength-in-places-fund/. The OfS is providing £20 million for the Institute of Coding which will target a skills gap in digital skills and involves collaboration between education providers and industry. This includes working together to create core content and introducing flexible ways to learn. The government also partially funds the National Centre for Universities and Business which promotes, develops and supports university and business collaboration across the UK. It is important to remember, however, that universities are autonomous institutions and, as such, that they are responsible for the courses that they develop and that the government does not prescribe that certain content needs to be included.

Pupils: Standards

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of holding pupils back a year at school as a result of poor (a) behaviour and (b) academic performance.

Nick Gibb: The information requested is not held centrally, and therefore the Department has made no such assessment. The Department supports head teachers to create calm and ordered environments so that pupils can benefit from a school culture where teachers can teach and pupils can learn. As part of this, schools must ensure they have and publish a behaviour policy to support staff in managing behaviour, including the use of rewards and sanctions. Sanctions must be proportionate and fair responses that may vary according to the age of the pupils, and any other special circumstances that affect the pupil. Schools should make regular assessments of progress for all pupils. These should seek to identify pupils making less than expected progress. The first response to such progress should be high quality teaching targeted at their areas of weakness. Where a child is behaving poorly or is not making the expected progress academically, schools should look to see whether there are underlying factors such as Special Educational Needs, mental health difficulties or issues relating to housing, family or other domestic circumstances. Where a school does identify such causes they are expected to put appropriate support in place, potentially working with other agencies such as Health and Social Care.

Teachers: Recruitment

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he can will make an assessment of the effect of OFSTED grades on the recruitment and retention of teachers.

Nick Gibb: The Department has published analysis linking Ofsted ratings to the mobility and retention of teachers. This showed that of teachers who had moved between schools, 74% moved to schools with the same or better Ofsted rating compared with their previous school. The full analysis is published here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/615729/SFR33_2017_Text.pdf.The Department’s recently published Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy has committed to simplifying the school accountability system, which the Department knows can create undue pressure on school leaders and increase teacher workload.From September, the Department will use a single, transparent trigger - ‘Ofsted requires improvement’ - to offer head teachers funded support and bespoke guidance from an expert leader. This will help reduce pressures on schools, while maintaining robust accountability in cases of failure and a proactive offer of support for those who need it.The proposed new Ofsted framework will also have an active focus on reducing teacher workload, with inspectors considering staff workload as part of the leadership and management judgment.

Children and Young People: Speech Therapy

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference page of 32 of the Children’s Commissioner’s report, Keeping kids safe: Improving safeguarding responses to gang violence and criminal exploitation, published in February 2019, what steps he is taking to increase access to speech and language therapy to improve rates of early intervention.

Nadhim Zahawi: We are committed to supporting children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) and recognise the importance of identifying SLCN early to enable the right support to be put in place and reduce the impact that they may have in the longer term. We know that 28% of children finish their reception year still without the early communication, language and literacy skills they need to thrive. That is why my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has set out his ambition to halve this figure by 2028 and we are investing over £100 million through our social mobility programme to support this. However, we are aware of the concerns about the adequacy of funding for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in England, including those with SLCN. That is why on 3 May 2019, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced a call for evidence from schools, colleges and local authorities to consider how the SEND and alternative provision financial arrangements in England could be improved. The call for evidence can be accessed through the following link: https://consult.education.gov.uk/funding-policy-unit/funding-for-send-and-those-who-need-ap-call-for-ev/.

Ministry of Justice

Prison Officers: Resignations

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many officers in bands three to five in each prison left the prison service after less than a year in (a) 2010 and (b) 2018.

Lucy Frazer: The number of band 3-5 prison officers who left the prison service with less than a year’s service, by prison, can be found in the accompanying excel table. We want prison officers to stay and progress their careers. We’ve improved induction processes to ease transition into the job, provide care and support for our staff and offer additional training. These measures are part of the work we are doing directly with Governors to address local issues and ensure experienced staff and new recruits remain in the service.



PQ 247092 table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 14.99 KB)

Reoffenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 April to Question 239207 on Reoffenders: Community Orders, how many offences of each type were committed by those offenders.

Lucy Frazer: The number of reoffences for each reoffence type committed by offenders who had started a community order in January to December 2016 and reoffended can be found in the attached table. The time period covered is the calendar year rather than the financial year as was previously provided in response to Question 239207. There is persuasive evidence showing community sentences, in certain circumstances, are more effective than short custodial sentences in reducing reoffending. The MoJ study ‘The impact of short custodial sentences, community orders and suspended sentence orders on re-offending’ published in 2015 involved around 350,000 sentencing occasions over 4 years and used 130 different variables to construct matched groups of offenders and examine the effect of short sentences relative to community sentences. This study found a reduction of around 3 percentage points in proven reoffences if offenders receiving sentences of less than 12 months were to get a community order instead. This is statistically significant and equates to around 30,000 proven reoffences in total over a one-year period. This means fewer victims of crime. Unless we tackle the underlying causes of offending, we cannot protect the public from being victims of crime. Effective community orders can address offenders’ behaviour, answer their mental health and alcohol or drug misuse needs, and provide reparation for the benefit of the wider community.



Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 12.98 KB)

Community Orders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2019 to Question 230697 on prison sentences, how many community orders each of those offenders had previously been given before being sent to prison.

Lucy Frazer: The Answer of 19 March 2019 to Question 230697 provided data, broken down by males and females, on the highest number of previous offences committed by an offender who received their first immediate custodial sentences between year ending September 2014 and year ending September 2018. Pursuant to this answer data on how many community orders each of those offenders had previously been given before being sent to prison can be viewed in the table.This analysis relates to a small number of offenders and so the information provided can be volatile and change significantly depending on the offender selected for each year. It should be noted that figures looking at the highest number of previous offences or disposal types are not representative of the majority of the offending population.Sentencing is a matter for our independent courts, who take into account all the circumstances of the case, including any aggravating and mitigating factors. We are clear that sentencing must match the severity of a crime.However, sentences should also rehabilitate. There is persuasive evidence showing community sentences, in certain circumstances, are more effective than short custodial sentences in reducing reoffending. The MoJ study ‘The impact of short custodial sentences, community orders and suspended sentence orders on re-offending’ published in 2015 involved around 350,000 sentencing occasions over 4 years and used 130 different variables to construct matched groups of offenders and examine the effect of short sentences relative to community sentences. This study found a reduction of around 3 percentage points in proven reoffences if offenders receiving sentences of less than 12 months were to get a community order instead. This is statistically significant and equates to around 30,000 proven reoffences in total over a one-year period. This means fewer victims of crime.Unless we tackle the underlying causes of offending, we cannot protect the public from being victims of crime. Effective community orders can address offenders’ behaviour, answer their mental health and alcohol or drug misuse needs, and provide reparation for the benefit of the wider community.



PQ246974 - Response Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 11.32 KB)

Prison Officers: Resignations

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many band three to five prison officers with less than three years’ experience left the prison service by each prison in each quarter from 2010 to 2018.

Lucy Frazer: The number of band 3-5 prison officers who left the prison service with less than three years’ experience, by prison, can be found in the accompanying excel table. We want prison officers to stay and progress their careers. The huge number of officers we’ve recently recruited inevitably means there are more staff – and more leavers - with less than three years’ experience. But we are working hard to retain staff, including by giving them the biggestpay award in a decade last year and by providing additional training. We’ve also improved induction processes to ease new officers’ transition into the job, and all staff can make use of services including 24/7 counselling, trauma support and occupational health assessments. These measures are part of the work we are doing directly with Governors to address local issues and ensure experienced staff and new recruits remain in the service.



PQ 247721 table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 32.36 KB)

Judiciary

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the judiciary is more representative of society.

Lucy Frazer: We recognise the importance of achieving a more diverse judiciary that is representative of our society and have recently made progress in this area. For example, as at 1 April 2018, BAME judges made up 7% of court judges in England and Wales and 11% of tribunal judges - an increase of 1 and 2 percentage points respectively since 2014. For tribunal judges, BAME representation is higher than the general population in each age band. Despite the progress made, we acknowledge that there is still more to do. The Ministry of Justice has jointly developed and is funding the pre-application judicial education programme (PAJE), which launched on 24 April 2019. This is a Judicial Diversity Forum initiative, which will support and encourage lawyers interested in a judicial career and target underrepresented groups including those with a BAME background, women, those with disabilities and those from a non-litigation background, to help them prepare for a judicial career. The MoJ is continuing to work closely with the Lord Chief Justice, Chair of the Judicial Appointments Commission and other members of the Judicial Diversity Forum, including the three legal professions, to increase the diversity of our world-renowned judiciary.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department has spent each year since 2010-11 on ensuring that Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme claimaints have been able to obtain the evidence required for their claim.

Edward Argar: Holding answer received on 08 May 2019



Under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (the Scheme), the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) will meet the reasonable cost of obtaining medical evidence incurred in connection with an application when certain criteria are satisfied. The table shows the CICA’s expenditure on medical evidence per financial year. Medical evidence includes doctor reports, dental reports, and special reports commissioned on behalf of CICA. In 2017/18, CICA directly employed a number of clinical psychologists which contributed to a reduction in expenditure on special reports and reduced the need for some victims to attend face-to-face medical examinations. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (CICS) 2008 was superseded by the CICS 2012 from 27 November 2012. The new Scheme changed the eligibility criteria to receive an award of compensation. Under this Scheme, applicants are expected to meet the costs of providing initial medical evidence up to a maximum cost of £50, unless they cannot afford to do so. The data is unavailable for 2011-12 due a change in how this type of expenditure was recorded in CICA’s annual report and accounts. Financial YearSpend2010/11£2,917,0002011/12Not available2012/13£3,003,441.762013/14£2,517,233.312014/15£1,630,262.632015/16£1,379,128.992016/17£1,644,390.882017/18£660,907.80

Prison Officers: Riot Control Weapons

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what training his Department has provided to prison officers on the use of PAVA spray in prisons.

Lucy Frazer: Comprehensive training has been provided to those staff permitted to carry PAVA which covers the following;Legislation and organisational policies specific to the carrying and use of PAVAThe physical effects of PAVA and aftercare for those who have been sprayed or exposed to PAVA.Guidance on when PAVA could be used, also when it is not appropriate to use PAVA.Practical training which includes the drawing, grip and discharge of PAVA.

Offenders: Mental Illness

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what representations he has received from Prison Governors on mental health screening for offenders at sentencing.

Edward Argar: Governors are rightly focussed on the safety and well-being of the people placed into custody and are very aware of the levels of mental health needs among prison populations. Governors work closely with partner agencies and stakeholders to ensure that suitable regimes and support are in place to ensure those in our custody receive the right care. At MoJ Ministers frequently visit prisons, where governors can highlight matters of concern to them. However, most issues relating to screening are discussed with health and justice partners through normal governance structures at official level. Providing the right intervention at the right time is vital to improving outcomes for people with mental health issues and there is ongoing work to divert offenders away from custody where appropriate, though it is important to remember that sentencing decisions are a matter for our independent judiciary. We welcome the Sentencing Council’s development of an Overarching Principles guideline on Mental Health, which has been recently published for consultation. The guideline aims to assist the court in sentencing offenders with mental health needs. We continue to support NHS England’s roll out of Liaison and Diversion services, which support efforts to intervene early for vulnerable offenders and divert them into services that address the underlying causes of offending. They do so by placing clinical staff at police stations and courts to provide assessments and referrals to treatment and support. Services are currently operating across 92% of the country, with full rollout expected by 2020/21. We are also working with the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and Public Health England on a programme to support the greater use of community sentences with treatment requirements (CSTRs) in courts, including mental health treatment requirements. The programme facilitates processes and pathways for clinical staff in courts to screen and assess offenders for mental health (and substance misuse) issues. This provides the judiciary with effective community sentencing options as an alternative to custody. Wherever possible, screening and assessments are completed on the day of sentence by CSTR providers for mental health and substance misuse. For individuals who are sentenced to custody, it is crucial that MoJ and HMPPS work to create healthy, supportive prison environments. We already know that prisoners are more likely to have poor physical and mental health than the general population and that being in prison can exacerbate these issues. That is why we have ensured that over 4,000 new staff are in post to enable us to implement initiatives like the key worker role, allowing staff dedicated time to provide support to individual prisoners. These initiatives and others mean that we will be able to better support individuals with mental health needs in prison.

Offenders: Employment

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders leaving prison secured employment within four weeks of release in the last financial year.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders leaving prison entered (a) further and (b) higher education in the last financial year.

Lucy Frazer: We will be publishing data in July 2019 on the number of offenders who entered employment on release from custody for the period 2018/19 as part of the Community performance release. It can be accessed using the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/community-performance-quarterly-mi-update-to-march-2018 The data will not include information on the numbers of offenders leaving prison who entered further and higher education, which could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Ministry of Justice: Telephone Services

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 29 March 2019 to Question 235313 on Courts: Telephone Services, if he will publish a list of (a) every helpline operated by his Department and (b) the prefix of each such helpline.

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what is the average time spent by callers on each of helplines run by his Department.

Lucy Frazer: During 2014 extensive work was undertaken to transfer MoJ’s higher rate customer service lines into local rate numbers. Since that time the responsibility for these lines has been devolved to the ALBs and MOJ does not hold all this information centrally. Below include helplines operated by MoJ and its Executive Agencies including average call times where available. Ministry of JusticePrefixAve Call Time (Mar 19)- Public Enquiry Line020300:02:191 HMCTSPrefixAve Call Time (Apr 2019)- Divorce030000:16:36- Employment and Tax Tribunals030000:05:42- Family and Civil030000:24:50- Immigration and Asylum030000:12:09- London Magistrates030000:10:06- Money Claims030000:09:05- Probate030000:05:29- Single Justice System030000:11:17- Social Security Child Support030000:15:19- Video Hearings030000:04:22 HMPPSPrefixAve Call Time (Mar 19)- Public Enquiry Line0163300:01:591 Criminal Injuries Compensation AuthorityPrefixAve Call Time (2018/19)- Customer Service Centre030000:12:29 Office of the Public GuardianPrefixAve Call Time- Call Centre Helpline0300Not available Legal Aid AgencyPrefixAve Call Time (Apr 2019)- Crime Contact Centre030000:07:47- Civil Contact Centre030000:08:02- Civil Legal Advice0345 / 0845200:11:52 1 These do not include waiting times as this information is not held.2 There is a recorded message on the 0845-number explaining the 0345 option for callers.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Procurement

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunal Service spent on third-party suppliers in each financial year between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2015.

Lucy Frazer: HMCTS has published the value of ‘purchases of goods and services’ annually in its Annual Report and Accounts since it was formed on 1 April 2011. We are therefore only able to provide comparable data for HMCTS since its formation (along with the restated comparative figures from 2010-11). HMCTS’ purchases of goods and services are shown in the table below: 2011-12https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-courts-service-and-tribunals-service-annual-report-and-accounts-2011-to-20122012-13https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-courts-and-tribunals-service-annual-report-and-accounts-2012-to-20132013-14https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-courts-and-tribunals-service-annual-report-and-accounts-2013-to-20142014-15https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-courts-and-tribunals-service-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-20152015-16https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-courts-tribunals-service-annual-report-and-accounts-2015-to-2016

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Consultants

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunal Service has spent from the public purse on consultancies in each financial year between 2008 and 2016.

Lucy Frazer: HMCTS has published the value of consultant expenditure annually in its Annual Report and Accounts since it was formed on 1 April 2011. We are therefore only able to provide comparable data for HMCTS since its formation (along with the restated comparative figures from 2010-11). 2011-12https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-courts-service-and-tribunals-service-annual-report-and-accounts-2011-to-20122012-13https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-courts-and-tribunals-service-annual-report-and-accounts-2012-to-20132013-14https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-courts-and-tribunals-service-annual-report-and-accounts-2013-to-20142014-15https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-courts-and-tribunals-service-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-20152015-16https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-courts-tribunals-service-annual-report-and-accounts-2015-to-20162016-17https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-courts-tribunals-service-annual-report-and-accounts-2016-to-2017

Ministry of Justice: Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many civil servants in his Department have been seconded to (a) the Department for Exiting the European Union and (b) the Department for International Trade in each of the last three years.

Lucy Frazer: The number of staff seconded to either a) the Department for Exiting the European Union and b) the Department for International Trade in each of the last 3 years is as follows: Department for Exiting the European Union2019 – 12018 – 02017 – 0 Department for International Trade2019 – 02018 – 02017 - 0

Prison Sentences

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners sentenced under an  imprisonment for public protection sentence remain in custody.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many IPP prisoners sentenced under an  imprisonment for public protection sentence have been in prison over their tariff for more than (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four, (e) five, (f) six, (g) seven and (h) eight or more years.

Lucy Frazer: The information you ask for is available in the public domain; however, I have provided it below for ease of reference. As of 31 March 2019, there were 2,403 unreleased prisoners in custody serving Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences. In addition, a further 1,063 prisoners were serving an IPP sentence following recall from the community. The table below shows the tariff-expired, unreleased population of prisoners serving IPP sentences by original tariff length and time over tariff, as at 31 March 2019. Time over tariffOriginal Tariff lengthTotalLess than 2 years2 years to less than or equal to 4 yearsGreater than 4 years to less than or equal to 6 yearsGreater than 6 years to less than or equal to 10 yearsGreater than 10 years Less than 1 year0018973118From 1 year to less than 2 years0058801139From 2 years to less than 3 years01286491148From 3 years to less than 4 years06182380181From 4 years to less than 5 years1010366260205From 5 years to less than 6 years3113170130245From 6 years to less than 7 years281345980229From 7 years to less than 8 years321455410232From 8 years to less than 9 years531853300271From 9 years to less than 10 years5313610019010 years or more16871001240Total37597852731262,198 As with any large-scale recording system, administrative IT systems are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. It is for the independent Parole Board to review the detention of those prisoners serving an IPP sentence who have completed their tariff period. The Board will direct the release of these prisoners only if it is satisfied that the levels of risk posed to the general public are reduced enough that the National Probation Service and its partner agencies can safely manage them in the community under supervision. Whilst HM Prison and Probation Service is focused on giving all prisoners serving IPP sentences opportunities to progress towards release, public protection must remain our priority.

Community Rehabilitation Companies: Agency Workers

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of staff in each community rehabilitation company are agency workers.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many weeks it takes agency staff to complete the minimum training required to work in community rehabilitation companies.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total spend was on agency staff by each community rehabilitation company in 2018.

Edward Argar: The Department does not hold the information requested in relation to the proportion of agency staff and their minimum training requirements. Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) contracts require each CRC to maintain a sufficient level of staff and ensure that its workforce is competent and adequately trained. CRCs have the authority to manage staff numbers as per their business and operating models. Robust assurance of performance is provided through operational contract management backed up by regular Operational Assurance audits.

Prison Officers: Training

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department spent on training prison officers in 2018.

Lucy Frazer: Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service central accounting system does not separate out specific costs, in respect of costs related to training prison officers, from other overall training costs. The information requested could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Contracts

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many bids his Department has received to operate (a) HMP Wellingborough and (b) HMP Glen Parva.

Lucy Frazer: The individual competitions for Wellingborough and Glen Parva have yet to commence – it is therefore not yet possible to submit bids to operate these prisons.

Community Rehabilitation Companies: Contracts

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his Department's timescale is for tendering for community rehabilitation company contracts in advance of the end of existing contracts in 2020.

Lucy Frazer: Last year, we announced our decision to end current Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) contracts early. Following this, we launched a consultation, Strengthening Probation, Building Confidence, and engaged with stakeholders and the market on the future of the probation system. We will set out detailed plans for the future of probation services shortly.

Dangerous Driving: Sentencing

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent estimate he has made of the extent of the use of the exceptional hardship exception for the sentencing of drivers who would otherwise be disqualified from driving.

Edward Argar: Information about drivers who have not been disqualified from driving as a result of a court accepting that disqualification would lead to exceptional hardship is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), an executive agency of the Department for Transport, holds a database relating to all GB driving licence holders, including licence type, current offences, associated points and disqualifications.

Young Offenders: Speech Therapy

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to develop a consistent pathway for (a) prison staff and (b) Departmental officials to refer young people in the justice system to speech and language therapy.

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to develop a consistent pathway for justice professionals to be able to refer a young person to speech and language therapy.

Edward Argar: To ensure consistent referral pathways throughout the youth justice system, the Youth Justice Board have developed a screening tool which provides a holistic assessment and intervention plan that can be used in a variety of settings. In custody, NHS England screen and assess every child for neurodisabilities using the Comprehensive Health Assessment Tool (CHAT) and put in place an individual care plan.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Housing: Older People

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to issue guidance to local authorities on the provision of specialist housing for older people in relation to the Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with providers of specialist housing for older people on the provision of that housing in relation to the provisions of the Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which forms of housing are within the scope of the definition of specialist housing for older people under the Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether local authorities are required to publish planning guidance for the provision of specialist housing for older people.

Kit Malthouse: The revised National Planning Policy Framework, published in July 2018, strengthened policy to set a clear expectation that authorities identify the size, type and tenure of homes needed for different groups, including older people. It also expects them to assess the types of specialist housing needed for older people, and reflect this in their planning policies. The specific types of housing that this can include is not prescribed.We will publish new planning guidance shortly that will provide advice to authorities about implementing this policy, in accordance with the Neighbourhood Planning Act commitment. We have undertaken extensive engagement on this, including discussions with a range of local authorities, charities and house builder representatives.

Housing: Older People

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to promote (a) information and (b) choice in relation to specialist housing for older people.

Kit Malthouse: The Government recognises that the provision of high quality,impartial, information and advice in England is an important service which older people, and their relatives and carers should have access to in order to make informed choices. The Department of Health and Social Care has set out that one of the key principles that will guide thinking ahead of the Social Care Green Paper is control. This involves ensuring that individuals and families have the ability to direct the support they receive, the autonomy to lead the lives they want, and access to reliable information.On 28 March, we announced our plans to implement the majority of the Law Commission’s recommendations to reform event fees in leasehold retirement properties. One of the key requirements of these recommendations is a statutorily backed requirement to ensure consumers have the necessary information to make an informed choice when purchasing their retirement property.( https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-03-28/HCWS1466)My Department published the revised National Planning Policy Framework in July 2018 and this specifies that local planning authorities are expected to have planning policies which identify the size, type and tenure of homes needed for different groups in the community including older people. We will shortly be publishing further guidance to help councils put these policies in place. My Department, together with Department of Health and Social Care, also grant funds new supply of supported housing (with 34,000 new units delivered since 2011) including for older vulnerable people. With our announcement last year that funding for housing costs for supported accommodation would continue to be paid through Housing Benefit, we are putting in place the right funding and oversight environment which will give confidence to investors and to the sector, to continue to develop new supply of supported housing.

Housing: Older People

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing a housing strategy for older people.

Kit Malthouse: The Government has set out a strategy to make the housing market work in England and make sure it works for all parts of our community, including older people. In our Housing White Paper, ’Fixing our Broken Housing Market, we recognised that there is a fundamental need to do more to ensure that more homes suitable for older people are being built as part of our overall ambition to increase housing supply. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fixing-our-broken-housing-market).The revised National Planning Policy Framework, published in July 2018, specifies that local planning authorities are expected to have planning policies which identify the size, type and tenure of homes needed for different groups in the community including older people. We will, in due course, publish further guidance to help councils put these policies in place.

Homelessness

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to publish the statutory homelessness statistics for the third quarter of 2018.

James Brokenshire: Statutory homelessness statistics for the third quarter (July-September) 2018 will be published on 24 May 2019 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/statutory-homelessness-in-england-july-to-september-2018

Buildings: Insulation

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's Building Safety Programme monthly data release, if he will publish a list of the names of freeholders whose buildings have been included in those data releases.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's Building Safety Programme monthly data release, if he will publish a list of the names of developers whose buildings have been included in those data releases.

James Brokenshire: We are not publishing details which could identify buildings because of the risk to public safety. We continue to engage with building owners and developers to ensure that all remaining buildings are remediated swiftly, and at no cost to leaseholders.

Buildings: Insulation

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the funding required by the Leasehold Advisory Service to provide advice to leaseholders affected by ACM cladding.

James Brokenshire: It is important that leaseholders are able to access specialist advice to understand their rights and the terms of their leases. MHCLG is providing up to £465,000 additional funding to LEASE to provide a dedicated advice and dispute resolution service for those leaseholders affected by fire safety issues.

High Rise Flats: Insulation

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much of the £400 million fund for the remediation of ACM cladding on social sector high-rise residential accommodation has been spent; and what the number of blocks is on which spending from that fund has been allocated.

James Brokenshire: To date, we have allocated £259 million to replace cladding on 140 social sector buildings.

Buildings: Insulation

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much financial support his Department has given to local authorities to take action where the owners of buildings refuse to remediate unsafe ACM cladding.

James Brokenshire: We have committed to support local authorities to take enforcement action where owners of private sector high-rise residential buildings with unsafe Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) refuse to remediate the buildings. This includes financial support for emergency remedial work where this is necessary, but we also expect the local authority to recover all reasonably incurred expenses from the building owner. We will consider financial support on a case-by-case basis to understand the expected costs of the remedial work and when the local authority would be making decisions on undertaking the work. As yet no local authorities are at the stage of undertaking the remediation themselves so no financial support has yet been requested.

High Rise Flats: Insulation

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, by what date he will ensure the removal and replacement of dangerous ACM cladding on all high-rise residential blocks.

James Brokenshire: We are working with all relevant parties, including local authorities and building owners, to ensure remediation happens without unnecessary delay. However, remediation does take time and it is important to get it right. The time it takes will vary greatly, depending on whether the work required is removing a small amount of cladding or major construction work requiring scaffolding and a new cladding system.

High Rise Flats: Insulation

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, by what date he plans to have assessed the number of high-rise residential blocks with unsafe, non-ACM cladding.

James Brokenshire: The Expert Panel reviewed and updated the guidance on non-ACM cladding systems in December 2018. It reiterates that the clearest way to ensure safety is to remove unsafe materials. We are conducting a series of non-ACM cladding tests and we expect the final results to be available by the Summer.

Housing: Construction

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to announce its decision on the proposal to make permanent the permitted development right for larger single storey rear extensions to houses.

Kit Malthouse: As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 13 March 2018, HCWS1408, we will make the permitted development right for larger householder extensions permanent. Regulations to bring this measure into force were laid on 3 May.

Housing Ombudsman Service

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 April 2019 to Question 239850, whether the figures on the number of complaints that were upheld includes those dealt with under the early resolution procedure.

Kit Malthouse: The number of upheld complaints referred to in the response to Question UIN 239850 on 10 April includes those dealt with under the Housing Ombudsman Service’s early resolution procedure.

Housing Ombudsman Service: Staff

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 July 2018 to Question 161501, how many full-time equivalent (a) Adjudicators, (b) Dispute Resolution Advisors and (c) Dispute Resolution Managers were in post at the Housing Ombudsman Service on (i) 31 March 2011, (ii) 31 March 2012, (iii) 31 March 2013 and (iv) 31 March 2014.

Kit Malthouse: The Housing Ombudsman Service holds historical headcount data that would require further research and analysis at a disproportionate cost to provide the information requested.

Regulator of Social Housing: Public Appointments

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2018 to Question 192956, how many applicants were interviewed for the post of Chair of the Regulator of Social Housing; and how many of those applicants were social housing tenants.

Kit Malthouse: Three applicants have been interviewed for the post of Chair of the Regulator of Social Housing. Applicants were not asked as part of the application or interview process to confirm whether they were currently, or had ever been, social housing tenants.

Regulator of Social Housing: Public Appointments

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reason the recruitment panel for the new Chair of the Regulator of Social Housing did not include a tenant of social housing.

Kit Malthouse: The membership of the Assessment Panel advising the Minister for Housing on appointable candidates met the requirements of the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments and included a senior departmental official and an independent member. The Governance Code does not require Panels to include a representative of the sector to which the public body relates.

Regulator of Social Housing: Public Appointments

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which consultancies were involved in the recruitment of the new Chair of the Regulator of Social Housing; and how were those companies chosen to undertake that work.

Kit Malthouse: No consultancies were involved in the recruitment of the new Chair of the Regulator of Social Housing.

Regulator of Social Housing: Public Appointments

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, where the post of Chair of the Regulator of Social Housing was advertised.

Kit Malthouse: Along with all other public appointments, the role of Chair of the Regulator of the Social Housing was advertised on the Cabinet Office’s Government Public Appointment website. The post was also advertised on websites associated with the appointment of non-executive directors – specifically the Public Chairs Forum, NEDonBoard, Women on Boards and ConnectOnBoard – as well as the website of the Tenants and Residents of England Trust. The department, the Regulator of Social Housing and the Cabinet Office all published links to the advert on the Government Public Appointment website on their social media.

Regulator of Social Housing

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether, in the forthcoming social housing Green Paper, he will revise the definition of the serious detriment test used to determine compliance with the Homes Standard by the Regulator of Social Housing.

Kit Malthouse: The Social Housing Green Paper announced that the Government would conduct a review of social housing regulation, looking at how it can support a new, fairer deal for social housing residents. The green paper said that “we want to ensure the serious detriment bar does not prevent the Regulator from taking a more proactive approach, and if it does, then we will consider removing it.” The Government will publish its response to the Green Paper in due course.

Clarion Housing Group

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2018 to Question 193589, on complaints about Clarion Housing Group, whether the Regulator of Social Housing is monitoring all complaints received and dealt with by that housing association or only those made to the Housing Ombudsman and directly to the regulator.

Kit Malthouse: The Regulator of Social Housing continues to monitor the level of complaints and referrals from Clarion tenants made to the Regulator and to take any follow up engagement as appropriate. The Regulator also liaises closely with the Housing Ombudsman. The Housing Ombudsman will notify the Regulator if they receive any complaints that present evidence of potential systemic issues relating to any registered providers.

High Rise Flats: Insulation

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his officials have been in contact with the freeholder of the Paddington Walk development about the payment by leaseholders of £3.5 million for cladding removal.

Kit Malthouse: On 9 May the Government announced a fund for the remediation of unsafe Aluminium Composite Material cladding on all high-rise (over 18 metres) residential private sector buildings in England, excluding those which have had a warranty claim accepted. Where leaseholders have had to pay for remediation, the building owner or the managing agent on their behalf would be eligible to apply to the fund for a refund for those costs that would qualify under the terms of the fund. In this scenario, any funding agreement will contain a condition that ensures that funding is provided only on the basis that leaseholders are fully reimbursed. We will write to all potential fund applicants by the middle of May to start engaging them, and publish the full fund application guidance and criteria by mid-July.In the meantime, my officials have been in contact with the managing agents for Paddington Walk. They are also in regular contact with the London Borough of Westminster.

High Rise Flats: Insulation

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department plans to take to reimburse leaseholders at the Paddington Walk development who have paid £3.5 million for cladding removal from the block in which they live.

Kit Malthouse: I refer the Hon Member to my answer today to Question UIN 250467.

Homelessness: Finance

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the validity of the research undertaken by St Mungo’s and Homeless Link on the effect of recent trends in local authority funding on (a) homelessness services and (b) rough sleeping.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why last summer we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy. This sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all.We have now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period. In its first year, our Rough Sleeping Initiative provided over 1,750 new bed spaces and 500 staff. This year we have expanded the RSI with investment of £46 million for 246 areas – providing funding for an estimated 2,600 bed spaces and 750 staff.I commend the work that St Mungo’s and Homelessness Link are taking forward in this area. Deepening our understanding of homelessness, and its causes and consequences, are key to us tackling this issue. It is for this reason, we are undertaking a review of housing-related support services in order to build a comprehensive picture of current arrangements and how support and housing fit together.

Ministry of Defence

Ammunition: Beaufort Dyke

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what monitoring the Government undertakes of the munitions in Beaufort Dyke.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Government does not undertake any monitoring of the munitions in Beaufort Dyke.

Ministry of Defence: Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civil servants in her Department have been seconded to (a) the Department for Exiting the European Union and (b) the Department for International Trade in each of the last three years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The number of Ministry of Defence civil servants loaned to the Department for Exiting the European Union and the Department for International Trade in the last three years is shown below: YearDepartment for Exiting the EUDepartment for International Trade2016~~201710~2018~~2019~~ In line with Departmental policy ~ represents five or fewer, values have been rounded to the nearest five.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary: Pay

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if she will undertake a review the pay settlement for civilian seafarer Ratings working in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: All Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) personnel are civilian Ministry of Defence employees and are therefore subject to HM Treasury Civil Servant Pay Guidance. As a result the pay award for RFA personnel for 2018-19 was 1.5% and there are no plans to review this settlement.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether UK (a) military personnel and (b) UK contractors have supervised Saudi military officials fusing bombs for operational sorties in Yemen.

Mark Lancaster: No UK military personnel or Ministry of Defence civilians employed in Saudi Arabia have supervised Saudi military officials fusing bombs for operational sorties in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia: Military Aid

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2019 to Question 228123 on Saudi Arabia: military aid, what the function is of the staff working in a liaison capacity inside the Saudi headquarters.

Mark Lancaster: Staff working in any military liaison capacity ensure the timely flow of information between the Ministry of Defence in London, UK headquarters at home and abroad, and the overseas headquarters they are assigned to.Military liaison officers in Saudi Arabia conduct Key Leader Engagement and relationship building, and develop understanding of operational matters within the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Defence and appropriate Saudi headquarters. More specifically, as I said in my reply to Question 228123, our liaison officers working in the Saudi Air Operations Centre observe Saudi-led coalition air operations in Yemen to help the UK support Saudi compliance with International Humanitarian Law.

Saudi Arabia: Military Aid

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many RAF personnel are deployed in Saudi Arabia that are not embedded within BAE Systems and are not working inside Saudi headquarters; and what the function is of those personnel.

Mark Lancaster: As of March 2019, around 80 RAF personnel are working in Saudi Arabia of which around 20 are on secondment to BAE Systems. Information regarding the number of former RAF personnel now working for BAE Systems in Saudi Arabia is not held.The Ministry of Defence is not required to maintain a record of the employment status of former personnel.RAF personnel roles include routine engineering support, generic training support and liaison roles.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit: Lone Parents

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of universal credit claimants are lone parents (a) under 25 and (b) 25 and over.

Alok Sharma: The Department has a range of support on offer through Universal Credit (UC) to help claimants, including lone parents, prepare for and move into work. For example, from April 2019 we increased work allowance rates by £1,000 and they will be uprated in line with inflation in the future. This measure provides additional support in a package announced in Autumn Budget 2018, worth £1.7 billion by 2023/24, to some of the most vulnerable low paid working households. The table below has an estimate based on households claiming UC by matching the UC household dataset (which contains information about family type), with the people on UC dataset (which contains information about age). The table gives the estimated total number of households on UC and those occupied by single parents in November 2018, split by age groups. The information in the table should be read in conjunction with the notes. Estimated number of total households on Universal Credit and those occupied by single parents, by age, in Great Britain, November 2018 Number of householdsTotal1,262,000  Single Parents aged 25 or over273,000Single Parents aged under 2555,000Single Parents age unknown12,000 Source: Universal Credit household dataset and people on Universal Credit dataset Notes:The figures are estimates derived from unpublished information and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.Figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand. Individual figures may not add up to the total due to rounding.A count date of the second Thursday of the month is used when calculating the statistics for the people and households on Universal Credit.The figure for households occupied by single parents has been deduced where the household has a family type of ‘single with child dependent(s)’.Further information on the background and methodology can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/739399/universal-credit-statistics-background-methodology.pdf

Pension Credit

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 April 2019 to Question 243355 on Pension Credit, for what reason information on Departmental budgets for promoting pension credit take-up rates are unavailable; and if she will make a statement.

Guy Opperman: The DWP uses a wide variety of different channels and partners to communicate information about Pension Credit and other welfare entitlements to potential and existing customers. Specific information on how much is spent on increasing take-up rates for Pension Credit is not available. I also refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 April 2019 to Question UIN 246944.

Occupational Health: Public Consultation

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her Department plans to launch the proposed public consultation on improving occupational health.

Justin Tomlinson: The DWP and DHSC Joint Work and Health Unit plans to consult later this year on measures to encourage and support all employers to play their part in retaining and reintegrating employees who are struggling with their health or who are off sick. This includes measures to improve access to cost effective and high quality occupational health services.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 1 May 2019 to Question 247977 on Universal Credit, what assessment he has made of what type of interactions with social media would help to increase awareness and understanding of universal credit.

Alok Sharma: The Department makes use of social media to increase understanding and awareness of Universal Credit in several ways. The opening up work campaign aims to increase awareness and understanding of Universal Credit and help people navigate the new claim process by signposting people to the Understanding Universal Credit website. The campaign uses a range of paid digital channels including Facebook to reach people with Universal Credit information. We also provide information in video format and regularly post Universal Credit information across DWP Corporate Twitter accounts. Content is shared on our local Jobcentre Plus accounts and we also use these accounts to respond to general enquiries about Universal Credit and signpost to additional information.

Employment and Support Allowance

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 26 July 2018 to Question 165571 on employment and support allowance, if she will take steps to include the cost of NHS prescription charges and school meals incurred by affected claimants in the underpayment review as recommended in paragraph 2.15 of the National Audit Office report, Investigation into Errors in Employment and Support Allowance, HC 837, published on 19 March 2018.

Justin Tomlinson: We are engaging with a number of authorities who are responsible for passported benefits to raise awareness of the ESA underpayment exercise and the potential issues arising from it. This will enable Departments to understand the impacts on passported benefits they administer.DWP does not hold information on what people may or may not have claimed. Our focus is on making sure people receive the arrears of ESA they are entitled to.

Employment and Support Allowance

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement of 21 February 2019, HCWS1348, whether her Department has notified local authorities of the details of the 58,000 employment and support allowance (ESA) claimants identified as having wrongly been awarded contribution-based ESA and not income-based ESA after being moved from incapacity benefit so that their entitlement to council tax support can be reassessed.

Justin Tomlinson: As part of the ESA underpayment exercise we are informing Local Authorities of any new, past awards of income-related ESA in line with our business as usual procedures. This will support local authorities to consider further any possible impacts of the ESA underpayment exercise.

Employment and Support Allowance

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement of 21 February 2019, HCWS1348, how many additional claimants have been identified since 11 February  2019 as having been wrongly awarded contribution-based employment and support allowance (ESA) and not income-based ESA after being moved from incapacity benefit; and how much in ESA arrears has been paid to date.

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement of 21 February 2019, HCWS1348, how many employment and support allowance (ESA) claimants who have been reassessed for that benefit after being identified as having been wrongly awarded contribution-based ESA and not income-based ESA after being moved from incapacity benefit have been reassessed as not entitled to that benefit; and how many people have not yet been reassessed.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department will be publishing an update of progress on checking cases potentially affected by underpayments of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) on conversion from previous incapacity benefits on the 16 May 2019. This publication has been pre-announced here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/esa-underpayments-progress-on-checking

Pension Credit

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2018 to Question 247596, what assessment he has made of the factors influencing the decline in views of the Pension Credit toolkit: landing page from 2014 to 2018.

Guy Opperman: The Pension Credit toolkit is an on-line tool aimed at agencies and welfare rights organisations to help them encourage Pension Credit take-up. The toolkit landing page can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit The advice and guidance for stakeholders toolkit page can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit/pension-credit-toolkit-advice-and-guidance-for-stakeholdersAn assessment of the viewings of these web pages has not been undertaken.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Environmental Stewardship Scheme

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Rural Payments Agency is able to efficiently manage (a) Countryside Stewardship and (b) Environmental Stewardship payments; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Performance on stewardship schemes has not been satisfactory. Both I and the Secretary of State are engaging with the RPA to improve the process and I have regular contact with the Rural Payments Agency’s (RPA) Chief Executive. Since the transfer of work last October, we have supported the RPA in securing the resources needed to make inroads into the backlog and get vital payments out to agreement holders. In parallel, the RPA has made IT improvements and streamlined processes for new and existing agreements, to get the payment rounds on a better footing, get agreement holders back into the position they should be in, and make the schemes a more attractive proposition going forward.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has for a strategy to manage bovine TB in the countryside without using badger culling; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill: A successful strategy for eradicating bovine TB involves addressing all routes of spread of infection, including cattle-to-cattle, cattle-to-badger, badger-to-badger and badger-to-cattle. As part of the Government’s 25 year bovine TB eradication strategy, we are taking strong action to eradicate the disease and protect the future of our dairy and beef industries, with emphasis on detecting infection early in cattle herds, containing and removing it as quickly as possible, and tighter biosecurity. We also enable farmers and landowners to carry out badger culling and/or badger vaccination, subject to strict licensing criteria by Natural England. Sir Charles Godfray’s review of the strategy is an important contribution that will inform future approaches around our goal of eradicating the disease in England by 2038.

Fisheries

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the fishing industry in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the rest of the UK.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Leaving the EU will mean the UK will become an independent coastal state for the first time in 40 years. The UK will be able to control access to UK waters and secure a fairer share of fishing opportunities, for the benefit of the whole of the UK fishing industry, including Northern Ireland. Our vision for future fisheries policy is set out in the Fisheries White Paper: Sustainable Fisheries for Future Generations. The Fisheries Bill provides the powers necessary to manage our fisheries as an independent coastal state. On 10 December 2018, the Secretary of State announced £37.2 million of extra funding for the UK seafood sector for projects approved during 2019 and 2020 to boost the industry as we become an independent coastal state. In line with the existing allocation of European Maritime and Fisheries Fund funds, £3.6 million of this additional funding will be allocated to Northern Ireland.

Nappies: Recycling

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support the Government is providing for the introduction of reusable nappy schemes by local authorities.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Resources and Waste Strategy sets out our ambition to eliminate avoidable waste. We welcome initiatives which keep waste out of landfill, such as reusable nappy schemes, whilst recognising the importance of wider environmental considerations such as energy usage. The Government is carrying out research on nappies that will look at such issues as the relative energy, water and waste impacts of the alternatives. We are exploring policy options in line with our commitment in the strategy and will develop proposals in due course for a range of individual products, including disposable hygiene products. This will involve in-depth discussions with industry and other stakeholders.

Lead: Ammunition

Heidi Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2019 to Question 209299 on Lead: Ammunition, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his polices of the European Chemicals Agency report on regulation of the use of lead ammunition; and whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to restrict or ban the use of lead ammunition.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government is aware of the European Chemicals Agency report on the regulation of the use of lead ammunition. The European Union Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation & Restriction of Chemicals (EU REACH) committee is considering this report and will shortly make recommendations to the European Commission about the current regulation on the use of lead in gunshot over wetlands. We will review our position once we have seen proposals from EU REACH.

Plastic Bags: Biodegradability

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that plastic bags labelled as biodegradable or compostable break down quickly in a natural environment.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government is concerned that, in the absence of agreed standards, claims about the biodegradability of plastic based products cannot be verified leading to potential confusion in the market place, possible increased levels of consumption and potential environmental harm at the point of disposal. As part of the Bioeconomy Strategy published on 5 December 2018, the Government committed to work with UK Research and Innovation and industry to seek evidence on the demand, benefits and implications (for example the impact on recycling streams) of a standard for bio based and biodegradable plastics that would include carrier bags. The call for evidence will seek evidence in relation to labelling and information provision.

Food: Labelling

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans the Government has to bring forward legislation proposals to force retailers to display full lists of ingredients in their fresh produce.

David Rutley: Under Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on Food Information to Consumers, all prepackaged food must include a label which provides the consumer with certain mandatory information, including a full list of ingredients. In addition, key allergens, as defined in Annex II of the Regulation, must be emphasised in the ingredient list, for example, by printing them in a bold typeface. For non-prepackaged foods and foods which are prepackaged for direct sale, a full list of ingredients is not required on the label; however, information about allergens must be made available to the consumer, whether that be on the label, orally at the point of sale or by some other means. Defra has recently closed a consultation to strengthen allergen labelling laws relating to pre-packaged food for direct sale and give consumers clearer information on the food they buy. We are considering all responses and continuing to work at pace to bring forward the changes necessary to give consumers greater confidence in the safety of their food. We will announce next steps soon.

Home Office

National Economic Crime Centre

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made on the work plan of the National Economic Crime Centre, announced in September 2018.

Mr Ben Wallace: The National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) is part of a new, wider, "whole system" approach which will deliver a significant improvement in the UK's response to serious and organised crime. For the first time, the NECC brings together law enforcement and justice agencies, government departments, regulatory bodies and the private sector with a shared objective of driving down serious organised economic crime, protecting the public and safe-guarding the prosperity and reputation of the UK as a financial centre.The NECC was formally launched on 5 November 2018. It includes officers from the NCA, HM Revenue and Customs, City of London Police, Serious Fraud Office, Financial Conduct Authority, Crown Prosecution Service and the Home Office. As the NECC evolves throughout 2019 and beyond it will build wider partnerships across the public sector, with regulators and the private sector, particularly with those businesses at risk from economic crime.

National Economic Crime Centre: Finance

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding his Department has allocated to the National Economic Crime Centre in financial year (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21 and (c) 2021-22.

Mr Ben Wallace: The National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) is part of a new, wider, "whole system" approach which will deliver a significant improvement in the UK's response to serious and organised crime. For the first time, the NECC brings together law enforcement and justice agencies, government departments, regulatory bodies and the private sector with a shared objective of driving down serious organised economic crime, protecting the public and safe-guarding the prosperity and reputation of the UK as a financial centre.The NECC was formally launched on 5 November 2018. The government recognises that the NECC forms an integral part of an enhanced system-wide response to tackling economic crime. For financial year 2019/20, the government has committed an additional £48 million investment to tackle illicit finance. This investment will fund the development of new capabilities including the NECC. Funding for financial years 2020-21 and 2021-22 will be subject to the outcome of the spending review.

Refugees: Families

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many refugee family reunion visas have been granted in exceptional circumstances for dependent children over 18 in each of the last five years.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office publish data on the number of family reunion visas granted to over 18s and under 18s in the quarterly Immigration Statistics.The latest data covering the year ending December 2018, can be found in as_21_q in volume 5 of the asylum tables.The data does not separately identify those which have been granted in exceptional circumstances for dependent children over 18.

Refugees: Families

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the review of the eligibility of adult children, who were part of the family unit when they were forced to flee, to automatically join their family in the UK under part 11 of UK immigration rules, will be completed.

Caroline Nokes: The Government provides a safe and legal route to bring families together through its family reunion policy. This allows a partner and children under 18 of those granted protection in the UK to join them here, if they formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country.Our policy makes clear that there is discretion to grant visas outside the Immigration Rules, which caters for extended family members in exceptional circumstances – including young adult sons or daughters who are dependent on family here and living in dangerous situations.Refugees can also sponsor adult dependent relatives living overseas to join them where, due to age, illness or disability, that person requires long-term personal care that can only be provided by relatives in the UK.The Government believes the best interests of children is reflected in staying with their families, claiming asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety – and relying on safe and legal routes under the Immigration Rules or through resettlement schemes.Nonetheless, the Government is listening to calls to extend our current family reunion policy and has been following closely the passage of the two Private Members’ Bills. We will continue our productive discussions with key partners on this complex and sensitive issue.

Police

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of detectives in the police force.

Mr Nick Hurd: I welcome the co-ordinated action that police forces, working with the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs’ Council, are taking to ensure all forces have adequate numbers of detectives required to investigate crime. It is clear that innovative solutions must be sought to support forces and this is why we have funded the development of the new Police Now Detective Scheme which aims to help bridge the gap in detective numbers.In September 2018, the Home Secretary announced that he had approved proposals from the NPCC to introduce time-limited and targeted payments for ‘hard to fill’ roles, including detectives, following the recommendations of the Police Remuneration Review Body.

Immigration Controls: Racial Discrimination

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what  steps he is taking to ensure that his officials do not profile people based on their race or ethnicity during immigration checks.

Caroline Nokes: It is illegal for an individual to be stopped on the basis of their race or ethnicity. Immigration Enforcement officers do not carry out random visits and nor do they stop individuals at random.Enforcement operations by Immigration Enforcement officers are intelligence-led and are carried out only where there is a reasonable prospect of encountering immigration offenders.

Extradition: Capital Punishment

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been extradited from the UK to countries that continue to operate the death penalty in each of the last five years.

Mr Ben Wallace: The Home Office does not hold these statistics.

Police: Pensions

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effect of the 2015 changes to Police Pension Regulations on the financial wellbeing of police widows and widowers.

Mr Nick Hurd: Police pensions were reformed in 2015 in line with the Government’s wider review of public service pensions. The 2015 Police Pension Scheme provides valuable benefits for police officers, including survivor benefits paid for life.The Government also made changes to the existing Police Pension Regulations 1987 in relation to survivor benefits, with effect from April 2015. The Government accepted that there were compelling arguments to allow surviving spouses or civil partners, where a police officer has died as a result of an injury on duty, to receive survivor benefits for life.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to implement a quality assurance process for the EU Settlement Scheme.

Caroline Nokes: As noted in the latest published report from the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI), we have extensive quality assurance processes across the scheme and we will continue to further review and align to other operational areas as we move forward.The ICIBI’s report is available here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/799439/An_inspection_of_the_EU_Settlement_Scheme_May_WEB.PDF

Immigration: EU Nationals

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to ensure applicants do not incur ancillary costs when applying for the EU settlement scheme.

Caroline Nokes: The EU Settlement Scheme application process is simple, streamlined and free of charge so there is no financial burden on applicants. We have a broad range of support in place to meet various user needs. These are optional and applicants can choose the support option best suited for their circumstances.The Home Office is committed to supporting EU citizens to obtain UK immigration status and we will continue to engage with representative groups to ensure that the scheme is accessible to all prospective applicants.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which independent consultancy was commissioned by his Department to report on the experiences of vulnerable applicants during the private beta 2 phase of the EU settlement scheme.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office commissioned Britain Thinks to carry out work on our behalf.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications to the EU settlement scheme made during the testing phases remain unresolved.

Caroline Nokes: As of 16 April 2019, 75 cases remained outstanding from the public beta phase. This was published in the public beta testing phase report on 2 May 2019.The report can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-settlement-scheme-public-beta-testing-phase-report.

Police: Pensions

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government has plans to conduct a an equality impact assessment of the recent changes under the Police Pension Regulations 2015.

Mr Nick Hurd: Police pensions were reformed in 2015 in line with the Government’s wider review of public service pensions. A policy equality statement was prepared at that time and published on gov.uk.

Agriculture: Seasonal Workers

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether non-UK workers entering the UK under the Seasonal Workers Pilot will be guaranteed a set number of working hours.

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether employers will be able to offer zero hours contracts to workers entering the UK under the Seasonal Workers Pilot.

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether workers who enter the UK under the new Seasonal Workers Pilot will be charged for NHS emergency healthcare.

Caroline Nokes: The scheme operators for the Seasonal Workers Pilot are required to provide pilot workers with fulltime employment, and are responsible for ensuring that the pilot workers they sponsor are provided with a regular income, and not left destitute if, for any reason, full-time work is not available over any particular period.The scheme operators are not permitted to offer zero hours contracts to workers.Pilot workers come to the UK for six months or less and are therefore liable to NHS overseas visitor treatment charges. The scheme operators are therefore required to ensure that all participants have suitable health insurance before they travel to the UK. Charges do not apply to accident and emergency treatment, and immediately necessary or urgent NHS care is never withheld irrespective of status.

Emergency Calls: Hoaxes and False Alarms

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment his Department has made of the prosecution rate for hoax calls to the emergency services.

Mr Nick Hurd: The handling of 999 calls is an operational matter for the police and fire and rescue services.

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: Natural Resources

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the restoring of natural capital stock in the Global South.

Harriett Baldwin: DFID is protecting and restoring nature and the environmental services which sustain life and support economic development. Poor people depend most directly on natural resources for their livelihoods and are most directly affected by its degradation. The UK’s £250m of support to the Global Environment Facility, including £150m from DFID, is helping developing countries to protect around 600 million hectares of land and marine habitats (an area equivalent to 24 times the size of the UK) and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 1,600 million metric tonnes (the equivalent of an average car driving 4 million miles). DFID directly supports action to tackle the degradation of key habitats, like tropical forests, home to up to 80% of global terrestrial biodiversity. Our bilateral programmes aim to tackle key drivers of deforestation, including illegal forestry practices and unsustainable production of agricultural commodities. DFID’s Forest Governance, Markets and Climate programme (£250m, 2011-21) is addressing illegal deforestation and tackling the corruption which allows it to flourish. While our Investments in Forests and Sustainable Land Use (IFSLU) Programme (£93.5m, 2015-23) is supporting public-private partnerships with leading companies, helping to turn their commitments to sustainable practice into action. This aims to encourage sustainable economic growth together with the conservation of nature in developing countries. DFID is co-leading (with Egypt) international efforts on climate resilience, including the resilience of natural ecosystems, at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in September.

Developing Countries: Job Creation

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps his Department is taking to (a) measure and (b) monitor the (i) standard and (ii) quality of jobs created by UK development assistance.

Harriett Baldwin: Creating more and better jobs is fundamental to reducing poverty, enhancing global prosperity and helping countries overcome the need for aid. DFID’s Economic Development Strategy commits the UK to supporting more and better jobs as a means of delivering the Sustainable Development Goals. DFID is seeking to make continued improvements to the data on both the number and quality of jobs that our initiatives support. The Department is working closely on this with partners including CDC, the World Bank, the ILO and the UK Office of National Statistics. We periodically report updated information on jobs supported by UK development assistance and intend to publish an update in 2019. DFID encourages suppliers and their supply chains to comply with ILO standards on Decent Work and it supports a number of initiatives that raise job quality and standards by firms that invest in low income countries. The UK has made expertise from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) available to partner Governments to support better quality labour market monitoring.

Green Climate Fund

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on increasing contributions to the Green Climate Fund to support other countries in adopting their own versions of the Green New Deal.

Harriett Baldwin: The Green Climate Fund (GCF) plays an important role supporting the Paris Agreement, helping developing countries to build their climate resilience and grow in a low carbon way. The UK contributed £720 million from 2015-18 in the GCF’s first phase of operations. Countries are now discussing funding for the next phase – as well as how the GCF could be made more effective. DFID and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) are preparing the case for a UK contribution, consulting HM Treasury as appropriate.

Church Commissioners

Christianity: Oppression

Rehman Chishti: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what progress the Church of England has made on tackling the persecution of Christians throughout the world.

Dame Caroline Spelman: The Church of England welcomed the decision by the Foreign Secretary to launch an Independent Review into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s support for persecuted Christians.On behalf of their two Churches, Archbishop of Canterbury and the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster made a joint submission to the Review. They set out a range of practical recommendations about how the Government could take meaningful action not only in protecting Christians facing persecution but also in promoting freedom of religion and belief more widely.Their joint submission can be found here: https://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/news/latest-news/anglicans-and-catholics-make-joint-submission-foreign-office-review-persecuted

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants in his Department have been seconded to a) DexEU, and b) DiT in each of the last 3 years

Mr David Lidington: The number of civil servants seconded/loaned to a) the Department for Exiting the European Union from my Department in each of the last three years is shown in the table below: 2016201720182019 to date51344327   No civil servants were seconded/loaned to b) the Department for International Trade from my Department in any of the last three years. EU Exit is an all-of-government operation. DExEU, who share the Cabinet Office HR system, do not employ permanent staff. All civil service staff are loaned from other Government Departments or on fixed-term contracts. The Department for Exiting the European Union is responsible for overseeing negotiations to leave the EU and establishing the future relationship between the UK and EU. The Department for International trade works to secure UK and global prosperity by promoting and financing international trade and investment, and championing free trade. Departments continually review workforce plans, reprioritise and assess changing needs, which includes identification and cessation of non-priority work where appropriate. We have accelerated our plans, and at the same time, the Civil Service as a whole is working to ensure that EU Exit Implementation is carried out to high quality without impacting public service delivery across the whole of government.

National Security Council: Disclosure of Information

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the metropolitan police require a referral from the Cabinet Office in order to launch a criminal investigation into the unauthorised disclosure of information relating to Huawei from a meeting of the National Security Council.

Mr David Lidington: The policy of Government is as set out in Paragraph 21 ‘Official information: standards of conduct and procedures’ and states, "The police are entirely operationally independent of Government and have the right and duty to investigate criminal activity wherever it occurs. No part of Government is above the law. In respect of unauthorised disclosure of official information under, for example, the Official Secrets Act, if the police find evidence of a suspected breach of the criminal law, it is entirely within the powers of the police to begin an investigation under their own auspices, whether or not the Government has raised the incident with them." A copy is in the Library of the House and is available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/228774/7863.pdf

Employment: Disability

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the percentage of employed individuals with long-term disablities who are employed in (a) higher managerial, administrative and professional occupations and (b) routine occupations.

Kevin Foster: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response
(PDF Document, 259.97 KB)

Children: Day Care

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the number of childcare workers in receipt of (a) tax credits and (b) universal credit.

Kevin Foster: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response
(PDF Document, 167.38 KB)

Opiates: Death

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many death certificates contained references to opioids in each year for which data is available.

Kevin Foster: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response
(PDF Document, 90.74 KB)

Former Ministers: Payments

Justin Madders: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much has been paid to hon. Members under section 4 of the Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991 since 13 July 2016.

Mr David Lidington: This information is not held centrally. Section 4 of the Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991 sets out Ministers’ entitlement to severance payments. Payments to individuals are processed by the relevant Departments

Treasury

Solar Power: VAT

Alex Sobel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it it his policy to charge VAT at five per cent on retrofit battery systems for solar panels.

Mel Stride: Under UK law, VAT is charged at the standard rate on retrofit battery systems for solar panels.

Halifax Bank of Scotland: Fraud

Tom Brake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the findings of the review by Jonathan Laidlaw QC on Lloyd's Banking Group's compensation scheme for the victims of the HBOS Reading fraud, published by SME Alliance on 18 December 2018.

John Glen: Compensation offers have been made to all customers in scope of the compensation scheme for victims of the HBOS Reading fraud, with 90% of customers accepting their offer. However, as Jonathan Laidlaw’s review highlights - the scheme has not commanded public confidence. That is why I welcomed Lloyds’ commitment – in agreement with the FCA – to commission a post-completion review to quality-assure the methodology and process of the Griggs compensation scheme for victims of the HBOS Reading fraud. I am pleased to hear that Lloyds Banking Group have recently announced that this process will be led by former High Court judge, Sir Ross Cranston.

Economic Crime Strategic Board

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress he has made on the implementation of the business plan for the Economic Crime Strategic Board, announced in January 2019.

John Glen: The Economic Crime Strategic Board, co-chaired by the Chancellor and the Home Secretary, met for the first time on 14 January 2019. The Board, which includes senior representatives from the public and private sectors, was established to deliver a joint public-private response to tackle economic crime. The Board will set priorities, direct resources and scrutinise performance against the economic crime threat. In its inaugural meeting, the Board commissioned the development of a shared public-private Economic Crime Plan and the development of a joint public-private economic crime threat update. The Economic Crime Plan will set out the public and private sectors’ collective ambition to combat economic crime and set out a series of concrete actions that both sectors will collectively undertake to enhance the UK’s economic crime response. Since January, ongoing official-level work has taken place between the public and private sectors to deliver these products for the Board’s next meeting in July.

Public Works Loan Board

Chris Philp: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of loan applications declined by the Public Loans Work Board in each local authority in each of the last 12 months.

Elizabeth Truss: The Public Works Loan Board is a non-discretionary lender and does not refuse an application if satisfied that it conforms to the policy framework governing its lending arrangements. There have been no instances of refusal in the last 12 months.

Public Works Loan Board

Chris Philp: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average maturity is of the loans made by the Public Works Loan Board in the last 12 months.

Elizabeth Truss: The Debt Management Office carry out the day to day lending functions of the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB). They publish information monthly on their website on loans which have been issued, and annual updates on outstanding loans, including the dates when loans are due to mature. The weighted average period to maturity of PWLB fixed rate loans advanced in the 12 months between April 2018 and March 2019 was 34 years.

Public Works Loan Board

Chris Philp: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many loans made by the Public Works Loan Board reached their maturity in the last 12 months; and what value of those loans was (a) repaid from local authority resources, (b) repaid using a new loan and (c) not repaid and have defaulted.

Elizabeth Truss: The Debt Management Office carry out the day to day lending functions of the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB). They publish information monthly on their website on loans which have been issued, and annual updates on outstanding loans, including the dates when loans are due to mature. 631 loans totalling £1.7bn reached maturity in the 2018-19 financial year. All loans that were due for repayment in this period were repaid in full. The PWLB does not have any details of the source of the funds used by borrowers to repay the loans.

Public Works Loan Board

Chris Philp: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the value of the loans from the Public Loans Work Board that were annuitised over their lifetime; and what proportion of those loans were repayable only on maturity.

Elizabeth Truss: A breakdown of Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) loans by repayment type is published annually in the PWLB Report and Accounts which is available on the UK Debt Management Office’s website at: www.dmo.gov.uk/publications/?offset=0&itemsPerPage=20&parentFilter=1438&childFilter=1438|1466&startMonth=1&startYear=1998. As at end March 2019 the breakdown of all outstanding PWLB loans by repayment type was as follows: £3.6bn (4.7%) were Annuity loans; £3.3bn (4.3%) were advanced as Equal Instalments of Principal loans; and £70.6bn (91%) were Maturity repayment loans.

Treasury: Emerdata

Deidre Brock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether (a) his Department, (b) his Department's agencies and (c) his Department's associated public bodies have entered into contracts with Emerdata Limited in the last year.

Robert Jenrick: No contracts have been entered into with this company.

Treasury: Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many civil servants in his Department have been seconded to (a) the Department for Exiting the European Union and (b) the Department for International Trade in each of the last three years.

Robert Jenrick: The number of people loaned to each of these two departments in the last three years can be found in the following table: DepartmentApril 2016 to March 2017April 2017 to March 2018April 2018 to March 2019DExEU171416DIT700

Multinational Companies: Taxation

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of the European Commission decision that the UK must recover illegal State aid from the multinational companies that benefited from the group financing exemption of the UK's Controlled Foreign Company (CFC) rules.

Mel Stride: As the European Commission’s State aid decision makes clear, the existence and quantification of state aid in relation to the group financing exemption of the UK’s Controlled Foreign Company (CFC) rules can only be ascertained by a detailed examination of the facts and circumstances of each case. The decision also makes it clear that no legislative changes are required going forwards.

London Capital and Finance

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what role his Department will play in the investigation announced by the Economic Secretary on 1 April 2019 into the events at London Capital & Finance and the circumstances surrounding them.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the investigation into the events at London Capital and Finance and the circumstances surrounding them announced by the Economic Secretary on 1 April 2019 will be completed; and whether the report of that investigation will be published.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department first had discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority on its performance in regulating the activity of London Finance and Capital.

John Glen: This Government takes the failure of London Capital & Finance (LCF) and its impact on consumers very seriously. HM Treasury officials have been in communication with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regarding LCF since January 2019. I wrote to the FCA on its role in regulating LCF via the following letter of 1 April 2019:https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/treasury/Correspondence/2017-19/EST-to-Charles-Randell-FCA-010419.pdf In this letter, I announced that I would order an investigation into the failure of LCF, using Treasury powers under section 77 of the Financial Services Act 2012. I want to make sure we have the strongest and safest financial system possible. By ordering this investigation, we will better understand the circumstances around the collapse of LCF and make sure we are properly protecting those who invest their money in the future. The role of the Treasury in this investigation is set out in sections 77 to 82 of the Financial Services Act 2012. It is essential that the terms of the investigation are set in a way that ensures these objectives are met and take into account any issues arising from current regulatory and enforcement investigations. HM Treasury officials are working to develop these with the relevant bodies as a matter of priority. Further details on this investigation, including its duration and the reporting arrangements, will be published shortly.

Social Security Benefits: Cohabitation

Ged Killen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending (a) the marriage allowance and (b) other benefits to long-term cohabiting couples.

Mel Stride: The Government introduced the Marriage Allowance in April 2015. Every time the personal allowance increases, the Marriage Allowance automatically becomes more generous.The increase to personal allowance to £12,500 means that, from April this year, eligible couples will be able to transfer £1,250, compared to £1,060 in 2015-16. This means that in 2019-20, eligible couples can receive a tax reduction of up to £250, or £1,150 if they make a backdated claim to 2015-16. The Marriage Allowance was introduced specifically to recognise marriage and civil partnerships in the tax system. Therefore, the Government has made no assessment of extending Marriage Allowance to cohabiting couples. The majority of benefits are paid on a household basis and the Government currently has no plans to change this.

Free Zones

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer,  when the Government expects to publish its policy paper on free ports.

Mel Stride: The Government receives a wide range of representations from stakeholders on all matters of fiscal policy, including free ports. We consider all of them in the normal process at fiscal events.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Cultural Heritage: Railways

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential effect on the viability of the UK heritage rail sector of indigenous fuel constraints resulting from a ban on house coal; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Ellis: Government is aware of concerns raised on the matter of of the potential effect of a ban on domestic coal on the UK heritage rail sector. DCMS officials are hosting a meeting with representatives from the heritage fuel sector this month to discuss this issue, after which we will make an assessment of potential next steps.

Prime Minister

Ministers: Conduct

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Prime Minister, if she will review the Ministerial Code of Conduct in respect of security.

Mrs Theresa May: The Ministerial Code was updated and reissued in January 2018. As the Code already makes clear, Ministers are expected to behave in a way that upholds the highest standards of propriety, and the Code expressly should be read against the background of the overarching duty on Ministers to comply with the law, uphold collective responsibility and to protect the integrity of public life.

Women and Equalities

Employment: Mental Illness

Layla Moran: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what progress her Department has made in extending protection for people with mental health conditions; and what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of amending the Equality Act 2010 so that employees who experience fluctuating mental health conditions are better protected.

Victoria Atkins: We are considering the scope for further legislative protections for people with mental health conditions. This includes working with the Department for Health and Social Care to assess the merits of amending the Equality Act 2010, where this would improve protections for people with fluctuating mental health conditions. The Equality Act 2010 already protects people whose mental health conditions meet the definition of disability in the Act, specifically a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities’.

Employment: Bullying

Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what support the Government is providing to small businesses to promote awareness of what constitutes workplace harassment; and what steps she is taking to help small businesses tackle such harassment.

Victoria Atkins: Sexual harassment is completely unacceptable - both inside and outside the workplace - and unlawful under the Equality Act 2010 and Protection from Harassment Act 1997. We are working with the Equality and Human Rights Commission on a new statutory code of practice on sexual harassment, due this year. This will help all employers better understand the law on this issue, and should enable them to better identify and prevent sexual harassment. We are also helping Acas update the guidance it provides on sexual harassment in the workplace.